Mr. Holmes (2015)

☆ ☆ ½

Mr. Holmes (2015) – B. Condon

Rather resolutely middle-brow, made for “seniors cinema”, or at the very least for one of the BBC’s mystery series.  Or perhaps that is a bit too cruel?  Ian McKellen does an admirable job of shaking off his well-known personality and fitting himself into the shop-worn persona of Sherlock Holmes.  However, this is Holmes at age 93 retired to beekeeping with the to-be-expected cognitive decline that all would face at such an age -- so, McKellen is not entirely bound by our expectations about the fabled detective.  The plot takes the form of several flashbacks as our hero tries his best to recall his last case, as well as a subsequent trip to Japan to find some “prickly ash” that might hold the cure for his ensuing dementia.  His housekeeper (Laura Linney in thankless role) and her young son, discourage and encourage, respectively, Holmes’ attempts to retain his dignity.  The mystery is solved but the whole thing was only as stimulating as a hot cocoa from your nanna in front of the fire on an autumn Sunday afternoon.