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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes, was famous for using his sharp intellect and deductive reasoning to solve the most confounding cases. But in director Bill Condon’s Mr. Holmes, an aging Holmes faces his greatest challenge yet: trying to recover his own fading memories.
Mr. Holmes stars Ian McKellen as the literary sleuth—who, at 93 years old, finds that he can no longer recall the details of his final case, which led to his retirement more than 30 years ago. Determined to remember the story and write it in his own words, he travels to Japan to collect a plant that’s supposed to prevent memory loss. But the only thing that seems to help him put the pieces back together is the encouragement of his housekeeper’s son, Roger (Milo Parker), who’s eager to read more of the story.
Beautifully filmed and skillfully acted, Mr. Holmes tells a bittersweet story about memories, regrets, and the wisdom of old age. As he looks back on his final case, Holmes struggles to remember what made it different—what could have affected him so deeply that it caused him to walk away from his profession, move out of London, and rely on a colony of bees for his only companionship.
The pieces come together gradually—and, especially in the beginning, the storytelling is scattered and unfocused, following the detective’s train of thought as it skips back and forth through time. This approach certainly makes sense—and it helps to illustrate the character’s struggle with his fading memories—but it doesn’t allow viewers to settle into the story.
It’s McKellen’s performance, then, that will keep audiences engaged through some of the more challenging moments. He weathers through the highs and lows with his character—portraying both the confidence of his younger days, as he relies on logic and reason to solve what seems like just another case, and the fears and uncertainty of older days, as he races to relate his story before it’s too late. His frustrations can sometimes make him a difficult character to like—a cranky old man who barely acknowledges his housekeeper and her son—but as he opens up to his new young friend, he finds the spark that he needs to recall the past and learn from it. And the lessons that he learns change how he interacts with other people.
Mr. Holmes isn’t necessarily a gripping tale of mystery and intrigue, but it is a thoughtful look at life and humanity, as seen through the eyes of an aging literary icon. And the outstanding lead performance alone makes it worth a look.
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