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Mr. Holmes

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Mr. Holmes
In this movie poster, Ian McKellen, playing a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes, stands posed for the camera, left hand on hip, right hand braced on a walking stick. His clothing, although neat and elegant, is quite out of fashion. Though the year is 1947, he wears a late Edwardian suit, top hat, and a shirt with a stiff rounded collar.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBill Condon
Screenplay byJeffrey Hatcher
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTobias A. Schliessler
Edited byVirginia Katz
Music byCarter Burwell
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 8 February 2015 (2015-02-08) (Berlin premiere)
  • 19 June 2015 (2015-06-19) (United Kingdom)
  • 17 July 2015 (2015-07-17) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$28.5 million[2]

Mr. Holmes is a 2015 British–American crime drama mystery film, directed by Bill Condon, based on Mitch Cullin's 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, and featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. The film stars Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes, Laura Linney as housekeeper Mrs. Munro and Milo Parker as her son Roger. Set primarily during his retirement, the film follows a 93-year-old Holmes who struggles to recall the details of his final case while his mind begins to deteriorate.

Principal photography began on 5 July 2014, in London. The film was screened out of competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and had its premiere on 7 February 2015.[3][4]

The film was released in British cinemas on 19 June 2015,[5] and in the United States on 17 July 2015.

Plot

In 1947, the long-retired Sherlock Holmes, aged 93, lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with his housekeeper, Mrs Munro, and her young son Roger. Having just returned from a trip to Hiroshima, he starts to use jelly made from the prickly ash plant he acquired there in an effort to improve his failing memory. Unhappy about his ex-partner Watson's fictionalisation of the story of Holmes's last case, the fictitious “The Adventure of the Dove Grey Glove”, he hopes to write his own account but is having trouble recalling the details. As Holmes spends time with Roger, showing him how to take care of the bees in the farmhouse's apiary, he comes to appreciate Roger's curiosity and intelligence and develops a paternal liking for him.

Over time, Roger's gentle prodding helps Holmes to remember the case (shown in flashbacks) and why he retired from the detective business. About thirty years earlier, after the First World War was over and Watson had left Baker Street, a man named Thomas Kelmot had approached Holmes with a request to find out why his wife Ann had changed so much after suffering two miscarriages. Holmes followed Ann around London and observed her taking certain actions – forging cheques in her husband's name and cashing them, reviewing the details of his will, buying poison from a chemist's shop, checking train schedules – which made it appear as if she were planning to murder Thomas and inherit his property. Holmes deduced her true intentions: to have gravestones made for herself and her miscarried children, then commit suicide with the poison. Confronting her, he claimed to understand her sense of loneliness and isolation and confessed that he had those same feelings. Ann poured the poison on the ground and asked Holmes if they could share the burden of their loneliness together. Holmes urged her to return to her husband; instead, she killed herself by stepping in front of an oncoming train. Blaming himself for her death, Holmes chose to retire.

A second series of flashbacks recounts Holmes's trip to Japan, where he met a supposed admirer named Tamiki Umezaki. Years ago, Umezaki's father had abandoned him and his mother while away in England. In a letter, Umezaki's father wrote that he was so impressed by the brilliant Sherlock Holmes that he resolved to stay in England forever. Holmes bluntly told Umezaki that his father simply wanted a new life for himself and that Holmes never met him. Umezaki was crushed by this revelation.

In the present, Mrs Munro gradually becomes dissatisfied with caring for Holmes as his overall health deteriorates, especially after he becomes unconscious from an experiment with the prickly ash and now requires more physical care than she feels able to provide. She accepts a job at a hotel in Portsmouth, planning to take Roger with her to work there as well. Roger, however, having spent considerable time with the more learned Holmes, has become dissatisfied with his uneducated mother and his family's working class status, and tension develops between mother and son.

Holmes and Mrs Munro later discover Roger lying unconscious near the house, a victim of repeated stings, and he is rushed to a hospital. Distraught, Mrs Munro tries to burn down the apiary, blaming Holmes for caring only about himself and his bees. Holmes stops her, having realised that Roger has been stung by wasps; Roger had found their nest and tried to drown them to protect the bees from them, but they swarmed on him instead. Holmes and Mrs Munro burn down the wasps' nest together, and Roger begins to recover. Acknowledging the value of spiritual and personal connections with others, Holmes tells Mrs Munro that she and Roger will inherit the house and grounds after his death, encouraging her to stay in the home she knows rather than move away in order to take another unrewarding job.

Finally, Holmes realises that Watson's fictional embellishments of his last case were a sort of kindness towards him, so he writes a letter to Umezaki claiming that his father was a brave, honourable man who chose to work secretly for the British Empire. As Roger begins to teach his mother how to care for the bees, Holmes emulates a tradition he saw being practiced in Hiroshima: creating a ring of stones to serve as a place where he can recall the loved ones he has lost over the years.

Cast

Release

The film was released in British cinemas on 19 June 2015, and in the United States on 17 July 2015 and had its premiere on 7 February 2015. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 10 November 2015.

Production

On 5 September 2013 it was announced that Mitch Cullin's 2005 book A Slight Trick of the Mind would be adapted into a film, with Ian McKellen as a long-retired Sherlock Holmes. Bill Condon was set to direct Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of the novel. AI-Film was on board to finance and co-produce the film, Anne Carey was set to produce through her Archer Gray Productions, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman would produce through See-Saw Films, and BBC Films would also co-finance the film. FilmNation Entertainment was set to handle the international sales for the film.[6]

On 7 May 2014, Laura Linney and Hattie Morahan were added to the cast, with Linney set to play Mrs. Munro, the housekeeper to Holmes.[7] On 9 July Hiroyuki Sanada was added to the cast to play Matsuda Umezaki, a prickly ash plant enthusiast whom Holmes visits in Japan.[9] On 10 July, more cast were revealed, including Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Phil Davis, Frances de la Tour, with Milo Parker to play Mrs. Munro's son.[8] On 22 August it was revealed that Nicholas Rowe, who portrayed Holmes in the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, would have a cameo role in the film. He portrays Holmes in a sequence spoofing the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films.[10] On 3 September 2014, Miramax acquired the United States distribution rights to the film.[11]

Filming

Principal photography began on 5 July 2014 in the United Kingdom.[12][13] On 9 July, McKellen tweeted a picture of himself as Sherlock Holmes in the film.[14] The film was set for a seven-week shoot on location in London and on the south coast of England.[8]

Music

Carter Burwell composed the music for the film.[15] The soundtrack was released on 28 August 2015.

Reception

Mr. Holmes has received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 87%, based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mr. Holmes focuses on the man behind the mysteries, and while it may lack Baker Street thrills, it more than compensates with tenderly wrought, well-acted drama".[16] On Metacritic the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17] IGN awarded it a score of 7.7 out of 10, saying "Gentle, moving, diverting drama that's perfect Sunday afternoon fare".[18]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result
British Independent Film Awards Most Promising Newcomer Milo Parker Pending
Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards[19] Best Film Pending
Best Supporting Actress Laura Linney Pending
Best Actor Ian McKellen Pending
Sydney Film Festival Audience Award Bill Condon Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Actor Ian McKellen Pending
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Actor Ian McKellen Runner-up

Soundtrack

Ann Kelmot relieved her grief with a glass harmonica.
  1. Mr. Holmes
  2. Prickly Ash
  3. Holmes in Japan
  4. The Glass Armonica
  5. Always Leaves a Trace
  6. Hiroshima Station
  7. Ann's Plans
  8. A and Bee
  9. I Never Knew Your Father
  10. Now We Can't Leave
  11. Investigating Mr. Holmes
  12. Two Such Souls
  13. An Incomprehensible Emptiness
  14. The Other Side of the Wall
  15. The Wasps
  16. The Consolation of Fiction
  17. Tea Ceremony – Graham De Wilde

References

  1. ^ "MR. HOLMES (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Mr. Holmes (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Jafar Panahi's New Film in Competition". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Queen of the Desert". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Plumb, Ali (4 March 2015). "Teaser Trailer For Ian McKellen's Mr Holmes Lands". Empire. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b Kemp, Stuart (5 September 2013). "Toronto: Ian McKellen to Play Retired Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon's 'A Slight Trick of the Mind'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  7. ^ a b c McNary, Dave (7 May 2014). "Laura Linney Joins Ian McKellen in 'A Slight Trick of the Mind'". Variety. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Barraclough, Leo (10 July 2014). "First Image of Ian McKellen in Bill Condon's 'Mr. Holmes,' Further Cast Revealed". Variety. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  9. ^ a b Yamto, Jen (9 July 2014). "Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Sherlock Holmes Drama 'A Slight Trick of the Mind'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  10. ^ Plumb, Ali (21 August 2014). "Exclusive: Nicholas Rowe To Cameo In Mr Holmes". Empire. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  11. ^ Hall, Gina (3 September 2014). "Miramax Acquires Elderly Sherlock Tale 'Mr. Holmes,' Starring Ian McKellen and Laura Linney". TheWrap. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Principal photography began in UK 5 July 2014". mckellen.com.
  13. ^ "ON THE SET FOR 7/07/14: OWEN WILSON & KRISTEN WIIG START RELATIVITY ARMORED CAR PROJECT, MEL GIBSON WRAPS ON BLOOD FATHER". studiosystemnews.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  14. ^ Fletcher, Harry (9 July 2014). "See Ian McKellen as a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Carter Burwell to Score Bill Condon's 'Mr. Holmes'". Film Music Reporter. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Mr. Holmes (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Mr. Holmes Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Mr. Holmes Review". IGN.
  19. ^ The Indiana Film Journalists Association Begins Nominations Process for 2015 Awards

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mr._Holmes&oldid=704864721"