MR. HOLMES

GRADE: A
Starring Ian McKellan, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hattie Morahan
Screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher
Based on the Novel A Slight Trick of the Mind
by Mitch Cullin

Based on Characters 
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Directed by Bill Condon
Rated PG (thematic elements, some disturbing images and incidental smoking)

Reviewed by Paul and Patrick Gibbs

Beginning with the 2009 Robert Downey,Jr and Jude Law film, and taken to the next level by the BBC TV series Sherlock (which made a star out of Benedict Cuberbatch) and its American counterpart Elementary, Sherlock Holmes is experiencing a definite popular resurgence. And since the character and most of his adventures are in the public domain, that means a continually increasing number of spin-offs and reimaginings. Mr. Holmes has two things to set it apart from all of the other recent versions: It has a low key, classically British style which evokes the original material to a degree far greater than any of the others, and it stars the incomparable Ian McKellan as Holmes.

The film (based on Mitch Cullin's 2005

novel) takes place in 1947, as a 93-year old Holmes lives out his remaining years in retirement in a small country home, keeping bees. Holmes has a live in housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney), who has a young son named Roger (Milo Parker). Roger is understandably fascinated to have access to an actual living legend, though his mother is far less enamored of the famous detective and is put off by his arrogant and aloof manner (which has not lessened with age). This creates a degree of friction between the bright young boy and his uneducated mother, who wants to leave Holmes employ. Meanwhile, Holmes himself enjoys Roger's company, and even allows the boy to read his work in progress: a memoir of his final case, a failure which lead him out of the profession. Due to the effects of age, Holmes' memory is beginning to fail, and most of the details of the case (which plays out in flashbacks) elude him.

McKellan's performance is obviously the selling point of the film, and he ranks among the finest actors ever to play the role. Some surprisingly effective make up both ages the actor and greatly increases his resemblance to the iconic consulting detective, and as an actor, he's at the top of his game, doing work which easily deserves an Oscar nomination. At the risk of sending an army of angry Cumberbatch fans after us, we'd have to call this our favorite of the recent portrayals. For one, there is an undeniable appeal and wonderful sense of tragedy to watching one of the greatest fictional minds of all time struggle with simple matters of memory and comprehension, and while the new found thoughtfulness and compassion displayed by the character will be off-putting to a section of Sherlockians, especially at a time when his narcissistic nature is so widely celebrated by fans (and perhaps all too revered as a lovable characteristic for so many of our pop culture characters), we found it to be a faithful rendition of the character, which simply delved into new aspects of his personality. You may not like seeing a Holmes who cares about more than his own ego, but we found it refreshing and believable, and it is important to note that we are never wrong.

This is a stage of Holmes' life we've never seen before, and it was perfectly convincing to us that as his intellect declined he'd turn to his emotions in new ways, and it is joyous to see that an introspective sense of compassion is portrayed not as a weakness, but a previously undiscovered strength. And while it's McKellan's show all the way, he's more than ably supported by Linney and Parker. Linney's affected accent takes some getting used to, but it's yet another great performance from one of our most underappreciated actresses. And for Parker to hold his own with these two is quite an accomplishment for a child actor. His work here is sensitive, assured and genuine.

Director Bill Condon puts the two parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn behind him and returns to a much more low key and respectable type of filmmaking. The pace may feel slow for some if they know the character from the stylish and often in your face Downey and Cumberbatch versions (which we love, by the way, don't misunderstand), but for us it evoked what we consider the definitive screen Holmes: the 1980s Granada Television series which starred Jeremy Brett. This was a large part of why the film had us so completely under its spell, transporting us back to being 11 year-olds sitting in front of the TV on Thursday night at 8pm watching Mystery on PBS. And for fans of the 1985 cult classic Young Sherlock Holmes, it's an absolute joy to see young Holmes himself, Nicholas Rowe, finally play the adult version of the famous detective (or at least an actor playing him) in a film viewed by McKellan's Holmes.

Fans of the new versions will need to remember that is old school Holmes, though in it's own way it is more bold and daring even than Sherlock, and as such, Sherlockian purists will need to remember this is a "what if?" and decidedly not canonical, authentic Doyle. But for those of us somewhere in between, Mr. Holmes is a true delight, and a welcome change of pace among the loud films of summer. This PG rated film contains little to nothing most would find offensive, but there are some very heavy and intense dramatic moments and themes.