Mr. Holmes

Mr. Holmes

Sir Ian McKellen hails from the school of great British actors including John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi and Ralph Fiennes. This small jewel of a movie is a showcase for a master actor. Mckellen plays Holmes devoid of his pipe, cap and cape. This Holmes is more debonair with a silk top hat and a bespoke suit. His attitude is prickly and distant.  McKellen can play the role without words. You know what he is saying just by looking at him. He ages ten years just by using facial expressions. We have not seen this Holmes before. At 93 stands at the edge of darkness and refuses to look down.

Holmes retired 35 years ago and lives on a farm in Dover. He lives with his house keeper Mrs. Munro, played by Laura Linney and her young son Roger. All of Holmes’s loved ones have passed on: Dr. Watson, his brother Mycroft and Mrs. Hudson his former house keeper. These deaths put a profound sadness on Holmes, but what scares him more is his loss of memory. What Dr. Morioirty could not do with a gun and a dagger, Alzheimer is killing cell by cell. Desperately seeking a cure for his memory loss he travels to Japan for a plant found in the fields of Hiroshima. At home he cultivates Royal Jelly hoping for the same cure. They prove to be hokum. He is more frightened of losing his memory than death.

There is a story within a story. Compared to other Holmes tales this one is a simple. It is a vehicle to show how Holmes wound up in his farm house. The sad outcome of the case lead to his retirement.

Mercifully this movie is devoid of stunts and CG. The great unwashed will ridicule the movie’s low box office but be confounded by the great number of nominations it garners. This is an actor’s movie, the cast is outstanding. For the Master Piece Theater crowd this film is for you. For you Sherlock Holmes groupies, this movie is for you. For the rest, you could do a lot worst.