MR. HOLMES

I didn’t hate this new film about Sherlock Holmes, but I far from loved it.  I was confused most of the time.

My long-time pal, the adorable Peter Bunetta, used to wonder why we always hear about the baby Jesus, and grown-up Jesus, but never teen-age Jesus!  Well, Mr. Holmes is about not the regular-age Sherlock, nor the young Sherlock, but the ninety-three-year-old Sherlock!  While that may be an interesting concept to many, I’m not really in the mood to see Sherlock Holmes grow old and be almost senile.  There are just some things in life that need to be left alone. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is probably rolling in his grave over this one.

Milo Parker and Sir Ian McKellan. Their characters’ relationship is the only good part of the film.

The three or four competing stories in the film, all in under two hours, make it completely muddled.  And I hate that the story keeps jumping around, from plot to confusing plot, with none of them being well, nor cleverly, enough resolved for my tastes.

And it’s way too depressing, on just about every level. There’s too much death and sadness for a Sherlock Homes flick, and it isn’t the villains doing the dying. I don’t think there are even any villains in the movie!

When I first knew that the topic was Holmes as an older gent, I thought it would be a charming story of him solving a case at that advanced age, not a tale of his regrets and illnesses.

I must tell you that, as slow as they usually are, I more often than not love British films; this just wasn’t one of them. I did really enjoy the scenery and cinematography, and absolutely wanted to marry the music! And, of course, Sir Ian McKellen, (who, of course, plays Holmes,) was his usual brilliant self. But it needed subtitles most of the time.  I understood only about a third of what was being said.

I also don’t understand the casting of Laura Linney as his housekeeper.  The role would have been equally well-performed, if not better, with one of those impeccable British character actresses.  It would have lent an authenticity, and been less distracting.  (I kept wondering about the thought process that chose Laura for the part, which took me out of the action every now and then.)

Milo Parker, who has the perfect actor name.

There is one absolute highlight of the whole shebang for me, (and I’m assuming it will be the same for everyone who sees Mr. Holmes.) It’s the little kid, Milo Parker.  His performance is just perfect, (although I’m afraid as he grows up, he may wind-up looking more like Michael J. Pollard, or Michael Shannon, than Jake Gyllenhaal. Don’t worry, though—I literally bit my tongue as I wrote that last sentence.) I’ve heard Sir Ian McKellen say that he just couldn’t get into the child actor on-set. Which means that Milo had to portray those beautiful warm feelings for the old man on-screen, knowing that he and the grown-up actor were far from chums in real life.  Not an easy task, especially for one’s first role! Milo made the entire film for me. I can’t wait to see him in other movies now. I hope he retains his same spirit as he moves along in his career, and doesn’t let directors mess with him as he grows.