MR. HOLMES
Director Bill Condon
Cert PG 104 mins
For those used to watching Robert Downey Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, this version starring Ian McKellen may lack the action of the aforementioned adventures, but it’s still very moving.
Staple characters like John Watson and Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft Holmes are reduced to mere cameos, putting the focus on Sherlock himself.
Mr. Holmes concerns the old, retired Sherlock Holmes, tending his bees in a rural cottage and being looked after by his ordinary housekeeper Mrs Munro (Laura Linney), as well as her intelligent son Roger (Milo Parker), with whom Sherlock Holmes bonds. With his memory fading, Holmes revisits his final, unsolved case, hoping to get the facts straight before he dies.
Past and present
He tries to remember the details of the case of the mysterious woman Ann Kelmot (Hattie Morahan) whom he was hired to investigate by her husband Thomas Kelmot (Patrick Kennedy); as well as Holmes’s recent visit to a fan of his, Tamiki Umezaki (Hiroyuki Sanada), in Japan.
Accordingly, the film interweaves past and present, exploring such themes as mortality, loneliness, grief, memory, and the interaction between fact and fiction. While the film’s view of the latter is a little dubious, the other themes are dealt with in a sensitive though understated manner.
What starts as a low-key drama with elegant production design becomes surprisingly emotionally affecting, aided by Carter Burwell’s subtly effective score.
The deductive genius Sherlock Holmes eventually learns that logic is not the only thing that’s important; one also needs compassion.
While stories have great value in exploring questions, the Bible indicates that we can best understand the big ideas, such as life, death and truth, as well as everything else, in relation to Jesus (c.f. Colossians 2.2-4; John 11.24-26; John 14.6.).
