Mr. Holmes

"I've decided to write the story down, as it was, not as John made it. Get it right before I die."

In 1947 the infallible detective Sherlock Holmes is in his early 90's and living in relative solitude along the picturesque coast of Sussex in southern Englnd with its green hills and white cliffs. The remnants of the War still litters the country-side and culture surrounding his home, aircraft wreckage, destroyed structures and references to the Blitz. Sherlock himself is a man utterly ravaged by time, his wit not dulled but sheathed, his body wizened, his memory failing him but he is plagued the consequences of his last case and flashbacks of a woman in grey, as well as his recent trip to post-war Japan. He returns to his house-keeper, the matronly but warm Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her clever and cheeky son Roger (Milo Parker). Roger is enthralled with the elderly detective, having often snuck into Holmes' study to read the man's own recounting of one of his cases, the very one that eludes his memory and yet haunts him.

Based off of Mitch Cullins book A Simple Trick of the Mind and written for the screen by veteran British period screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher, Mr Holmes is a welcome departure in tone from recent incarnations of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character. The film is bright, real without the need for grit and grime, and lacking in the immediate threat of a killer on the loose. Rather the driving force behind the narrative is the gaps in Holmes' memory and the connections between this his trip to Japan and the grey-clad subject of one of Dr Watson's embellishing tales of Sherlock's exploits. Director Bill Condon, of Twilight: Breaking Dawn, The Fifth Estate and Dreamgirls fame, guides the film along a path based first on logic and later emotion, a in tune with the development of McKellen's Holmes during the film.

McKellen's performance is total, aside from a few moments where the power of his voice breaks through the skin of the character, McKellen plays the great detective with an absolute command that can only come with experience and skill. The film captures Sherlock in three stages of his life, the enfeebled and vulnerable man at the end of his life that is the films present, the earnest, pushy but still vulnerable man of weeks earlier, and the sharp and confident detective of 35 years prior on his last case. The difference in characterisation between these three times is staggering, particularly when the younger Sherlock first appears. Posture, pronunciation plus a sharp mind & tongue distance the detective from the old man with his hunched back, curmudgeonly quirks and honest emotional vulnerability. This is truly and near totally McKellen's film (certainly in the marketing) but supporting him, aside from the always capable though awkwardly accented Laura Linney, is child actor Milo Parker as Roger, a precocious young boy who is both enamoured with Holmes and, of course, adopts the elderly man as a patriarchal figure. Aside from a late Second Act predictable turn, the incorporation and performance of Milo Parker is inspired, he's precocious but not annoying, has a decent emotional range, good instincts and a very expressive face, making Roger a welcoming presence.

Perspective, understanding and hindsight are the main themes that drive Mr Holmes, the camera is driven by perspective, characters by understanding and the narrative by hindsght. With bright colourful locations and the layered period setting, Bill Condon works well with Director of Photography Tobias Schliessler (who has worked several times previously with Condon and Peter Berg) in creating a consistent theme of perspective through repeated use of eyeline matches and PoV shots reinforcing a narrative focus on hindsight. The characters each are driven by some different measure of understanding and though it sometimes takes a while to become clear what they're trying to understand, it's always a logical path that fulfils the mystery at the core of the story. Unfortunately, outside of the commanding performance of its star, there is little of Mr Holmes that makes it memorable. A fine enough film and fitting portrayal of the character.