Truly Dreadful Film

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) is aged up, living in retirement, tending to his bees in the country. He tries to remember his last case from 30 years ago the outcome of which was changed by Dr Watson in his writings. The case concerned a man who consulted Mr Holmes about his wife who miscarried twice. Holmes observes that she wishes to do harm to her husband but later realises that she wishes to kill herself.Looking after him is his housekeeper, Mrs Munro (Laura Linney) and her young son Roger (Milo Parker.) However the housekeeper is worried about her future where Holmes is getting increasing decrepit and she is looking for another job. Holmes on a visit to Japan is looking for a substance to rejuvenate his memories where he also meets a man who thinks that Holmes once knew his father.Sherlock also finds time to see himself on celluloid as his adventures were adapted for the movies, played badly by an actor (Nicholas Rowe, reprising his role three decades after Young Sherlock Holmes.)This is an elegant film with a buzz about McKellen's performance. However it is a slight film that does wrap up its various plot lines very neatly.

Young Sherlock once mused "I never want to be alone" when asked what he wanted to be after school. In 1947 Old Sherlock, Mr. Holmes, his memory failing him and life nearing an imminent end laments the fact that his terminal alone-ness has driven too many of the most important people away from him. Set long after His Last Bow, Holmes is living a simple life, tending to his bees in Sussex. Watson is long gone, and so is his happiness.His housekeeper and her son are the only family he has, though the chore of caring for him is beginning to have a negative impact on them. As his memories and recollections vanish like ghosts into the aether, Holmes struggles to reminisce about his final case and the huge failure that led him to isolating himself from the world. Watson gave the story a happy ending, tricking the world into believing that the case was a success, but Holmes has kept the truth secret and very personal.It's not so much a mystery as much as it is a drama about an unhappy man trying to come to terms with his past mistakes. The thing about movies is that they have to be concise and tight when it comes to character development. Soap Operas, sitcoms, and even cartoons don't have this problem as the history and development of a single character can occur over many seasons and years. Sherlock Holmes is probably THE most portrayed character of all time with dozens, maybe hundreds, of actors giving their own unique spin across movies, TV shows, theatre productions, spin-off novels, radio dramas, and even video games. But I have never seen him portrayed so weak, sympathetic, and so far removed from the classic image of the cape, deerstalker, and pipe ("an invention of the illustrator", he admits). Based on the novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, the movie presents the "true" fictional detective, elegantly played by Ian McKellen with Laura Linney doing a truly dodgy West Country accent as his housekeeper. Their relationship is fraught and confrontational, but heartfelt and sincere. The presence of Nicholas Rowe as Holmes in a movie adaptation of his failed last case is what you call a super- meta-meta-meta-fictional moment.Though shot in 2.35:1 (I suspect it is cropped from 1.78:1, a sort of digital version of Super35) it seems quite televisual, so I can't rate it too highly. Bill Condon stages this story like an episode of Midsomer Murders with very little of it feeling theatrical. It's a shame, but the production design makes up for it.

This was a very enjoyable film, and one that brings back the Holmes character for other reasons than to play around with his powers of deduction. And the times it references to tropes and plots from Holmes books, it's not made a big deal of. Instead, this is an exploration of some very human themes and emotions, using a familiar character as a tool to explore these.Ian McKellen is, as always, exceptional at being tender and intense at the same time. The make up is spot on, and aided by his acting you can clearly tell when each scene is set. The supporting cast also does a great job.The highlight of the movie is the way it explores human connection, growing old and memories in a sad, but warm way. The sentimentality does not feel forced, and you can relate to the characters on a pure human level.The "mystery" never gets all that interesting, and while it is in no way the center of the movie, it's still given enough time for it to be a bit more interesting than it is. But the movie still works well.

As a character study, this movie was excellent. As far as the acting, it was superb. Most notable performances were Ian McKellen (of course), Milo Parker and Hattie Morahan. And the subject matter was very well done. Aging, dementia and loss were all covered with both empathy and truth. Considering how long the persona of Sherlock Holmes has been around, this was a timely movie that in no way detracts from previous films. Nor does it feel like an ending of the series of Sherlock Holmes as a whole, but rather an exploration of one of many ways Mr. Holmes might retire - and why.While some may say it was too slow, not all great movies need a lot of action. This movie was well worth my time.