Bill Condon's latest film offers a fascinating take on an elderly Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen), who has by now retired from professional detective work in the belief that he has lost his capacity to solve cases. Being over ninety now, he cannot remember why that should have happened; but with the help of young Roger (Milo Parker) plus a series of objects possessing particular significance to Holmes's past, the great detective actually finds out.
Jeffrey Hatcher's screenplay offers a fascinating take on the limits of logic. Holmes has spent his life relying on it, but as he becomes more and more involved in that past case, he realizes that humanity possesses other important qualities - emotion, for instance. For the majority of his lengthy life, Holmes has repressed that side to his character, condemning him to a life of isolation. He only discovers its value during his last days.
More generally, MR. HOLMES invites us to reflect on Holmes's status as a character in western popular cultures. Although a fictional character - penned by Conan Doyle - the film treats him as a living being who objects strongly to the late Dr. Watson's representation in the stories. The Holmes of this film hates a pipe and never wore a deerstalker; these were both affectations provided by Watson for the readers' entertainment. Taking these comments into account, we wonder whether there is any real distinction to draw between the "real" and the "fictional" Holmes. Condon intensifies this feeling through the chocolate-box settings, all green fields, shiny locomotives and impeccably clad villagers walking in the back of the frame. In truth, the Britain of 1947 (where the action begins) was a shabby place, with people dressed dowdily and most motor vehicles left over from the prewar era.
Having set up such an intriguing premise, it's a shame that the film lacks the courage to follow it through. Holmes's housekeeper Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney), who hitherto has been jealous of the detective in the belief that he has somehow "corrupted" her son Roger, undergoes a change of heart and decides to look after the old man. The film's subplot involving a mysterious Japanese man (Hiroyuki Sanada) makes little or no sense at all, while some of the visual devices - such as the sign of "Hiroshima Station" (in English) plastered across an anonymous-looking building are simply amateurish. In the end we feel that MR. HOLMES is something of a lost opportunity, its story being sacrificed on the wheel of a happy ending.
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