Movie Review: “Mr. Holmes”
Ever watch a man age 40 years and back again in seconds? That’s exactly what Ian McKellen does in the compelling 2015 drama Mr. Holmes, though he does get an assist through the magic of cinematographic flashbacks.
This is not Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock at the height of his powers. The year is 1947, and Holmes is a 93-year-old who is spending his elder years as a beekeeper in Sussex. But this is not a peaceful retirement. Holmes is now plagued by dementia, and for once is fighting a foe he can’t outsmart. His solution is restorative herbs for the brain, including prickly ash that he goes all the way to Japan to acquire.
The aged detective has another ace up his sleeve as well: the act of writing out his memories of a case that has left him dissatisfied for thirty years. The outcome of the case, which involved a lovely but desperate married woman, is not in doubt. But Holmes’s part in the drama continues to mystify him. And his memory loss makes it difficult to remember exactly what happened and how his actions affected the outcome.
Fortunately, Holmes has a new Dr. Watson at hand (the original has passed on). This is the 10-year-old son (played by Milo Parker) of his widowed housekeeper (Laura Linney, frumped down nicely for the role). The boy is the detective-cum-beekeeper’s apprentice. But more importantly, he is the engine that drives Holmes’s work in writing out his memories of the case, insisting that the old gentlemen continue with the manuscript so he can read that day’s pages each night.
But my own memory must be failing, for I haven’t yet mentioned the reason to see this film: the performance of Ian McKellen as Holmes. You’d be hard-pressed to find a film performance of Sir Ian’s that doesn’t burn with intensity, and Mr. Holmes is no exception. As an acting student in London, I saw McKellen twice on the West End, and I can tell you that both times, a different level of energy existed on stage at the moment he made his entrances.
The reviewer of Mr. Holmes on the RogerEbert.com site calls him “the splendid and spell-binding Sir Ian.” Watching this film, you can understand why. But you must have patience. McKellen’s performance is quiet, but filled with craft. Best of all, Holmes’s heart-rending hunt for both the right memories of his old case and the reasons for his failure as a human being culminate in an ending that could only be achieved in a performance with this level of vulnerability and pathos. That this actor pulls that off while portraying a character famous for his cold and heartless intellect is a triumph.
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