Sir Ian McKellen as "Mr. Holmes"

[jesskayding]

Him. I think it may have some comedy. obviously not slap stick. His roles usually include a little funny.

[Carol the Dabbler]

True.  His Holmes is presumably pretty multi-faceted!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

They may be done filming, since this Radio Times article says that "Mr. Holmes will have its first screening at the Berlin film festival in February."  (Of course, they could mean that just a few scenes will be shown there.)

 

 

I like this smidgen of plot info:

 

A newly-released image from the film shows McKellen’s retired Holmes at his countryside home talking to the amateur-sleuth son of his housekeeper – and it’s safe to say that the once quick and dapper detective is not quite the man he once was.

 

Set in 1947, Mr Holmes has McKellen play a 93-year-old version of the sleuth, who now lives a quiet life keeping bees. But the allure of a 50-year-old unsolved case pulls Holmes back into the world of deduction – even as his mind is deteriorating with age.

 

It also says that the movie "is based on Mitch Cullin’s 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind."

 

And I see (on IMDb) that Phil Davis (Jeff-the-cabbie in "Study in PInk") is playing a police officer this time around.

 

[Convict13]

[Convict13]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR7iJg8-3Rg&feature=youtu.be

[Carol the Dabbler]

What year is it supposed to be in the movie?  Holmes was born somewhere around 1860, wasn't he?  So age 93 would place him in -- good heavens -- the early 50's?  Long past the Victorian Era at any rate -- no wonder he's referring to the (presumably) late Dr. Watson as "John"!  Wonder if we'll see the good doctor in any flashbacks?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just noticed that the Radio Times article I quoted says it's 1947 -- so they place Holmes' birth a bit earlier than I did, circa 1854.

[Arcadia]

That kid ... do British actors all look alike at that age, or do they just keep cloning the same kid over and over for these roles? :D

[Convict13]

That kid ... do British actors all look alike at that age, or do they just keep cloning the same kid over and over for these roles? :D

 

 

Yes!  I was thinking that myself, he looks so familiar. 

[jadpdr]

Sorry to butt in like this, but does it not depend above all on the source material? If it is s good book, it should make a good script and at least an interesting film, but without Dr Watson, it will definitely have a different feel.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Which isn't exactly a bad thing. Even Watson in canon names several times when Holmes was off solving cases without him and there are a couple of stories in "His Last Bow" that does not include Watson at all. We don't know if Watson went into retirement with Holmes to keep bees. I think it will be a well done movie and it's about Holmes. Interesting no matter how you slice it. Whether or not it plays well, that will have to wait until it's released and we can actually watch it all.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I agree with jadpdr and Fox -- let the movie stand or fall on its own merits (or lack thereof).

 

I am not at all certain that it depends entirely on the source material, however.  I've seen bad movies made from good books, as well as vice-versa.

 

[Caya]

Now I'm intensely curious about an example of the latter. Bad movies from good books are legion. But the other way round?

[Carol the Dabbler]

First, "good/bad" is probably too sweeping, since I do not purport to speak for the entire potential audience.  So I should have worded that "movies that I do/don't like" and "books that I do/don't like" -- or possibly "movies that are sufficiently different from their books that they are unlikely to appeal to the same audiences."

 

OK, examples.  I enjoyed The Pursuit of Happyness enough to consider reading the book afterwards -- until I read enough customer reviews to convince me that it would be a mistake.  (The movie and the book are apparently different in what I would consider some key aspects, such as tone.)

 

I'm guessing / hoping that the same may be true of The Taliban Shuffle, a book that's currently being made into a movie apparently called Fun House.  I thought of reading the book ahead of time, but thought better of it after reading a sampling of customer reviews.  I am therefore hoping that the movie will find its own way, because Martin Freeman's in it.

 

Somewhat the same thing could be said for Under the Tuscan Sun -- I enjoyed both the movie (first) and the book (later), but they bear very little resemblance to one another, so some fans of the movie might find the book a great disappointment.

 

[Arcadia]

Movies better than the source material: anything by Dan Brown or Tom Clancy. :P

[Pawse]

What year is it supposed to be in the movie? Holmes was born somewhere around 1860, wasn't he? So age 93 would place him in -- good heavens -- the early 50's? Long past the Victorian Era at any rate -- no wonder he's referring to the (presumably) late Dr. Watson as "John"! Wonder if we'll see the good doctor in any flashbacks?

Holmes was born in 1854. If it's now set in 1947, that would make him 93.

[Convict13]

A new photo care of Mr McKellen along with the opening dates in the UK, June 19th and USA July 17th.  Nothing so far for the rest of the world.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

No mention of it yet on Amazon (UK or US).

 

[J.P.]

And it's how Sherlock  will look in season 4. :D

[Carol the Dabbler]

Naw, probably not till Series 5 -- or 6, if he takes really good care of himself.

 

[Arcadia]

Naw, probably not till Series 5 -- or 6, if he takes really good care of himself.

 

And we all know he's really good at that! ;)

 

What's wrong with me? I admire Ian McKellan as an actor, but I'm really NOT wanting to see this movie -- simply because I don't want to see Holmes as an old man!!! Ak! I'm prejudiced against old people!!! And I AM old people! Someone stop me before I offend myself!!!!!

[SherlockedCAMPer]

 

Naw, probably not till Series 5 -- or 6, if he takes really good care of himself.

 

And we all know he's really good at that! ;)

 

What's wrong with me? I admire Ian McKellan as an actor, but I'm really NOT wanting to see this movie -- simply because I don't want to see Holmes as an old man!!! Ak! I'm prejudiced against old people!!! And I AM old people! Someone stop me before I offend myself!!!!!

 

 

you are not old unless you're in your 90's.  I started considering my grandmother getting old when she was about 91 or so.  2 years ago she passed at age 96.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think that's pretty accurate -- though of course some people are old at 40 and others are still pretty spry at 100.

[T.o.b.y]

 

Naw, probably not till Series 5 -- or 6, if he takes really good care of himself.

 

And we all know he's really good at that! ;)

 

What's wrong with me? I admire Ian McKellan as an actor, but I'm really NOT wanting to see this movie -- simply because I don't want to see Holmes as an old man!!! Ak! I'm prejudiced against old people!!! And I AM old people! Someone stop me before I offend myself!!!!!

 

 

Now, now. I'm not going to see it either, although I adore Ian McKellen, because I am in general opposed to movie versions of Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal being the one big exception, and I had to be talked into that as well.

 

I think that it is hard to imagine Sherlock Holmes as a really old man because he seems like the kind of person who would have a terrible time once his powers of mind and body weakened. I can imagine him as elderly, but not as old. He'd be miserable. In fact, I always kind of thought Holmes' wish was to die "on the battlefield", so to speak. When Moriarty was on his tracks, Watson described him as elated and cheerful, and he was perfectly ready to die, provided he could take the master criminal with him.

 

That said, I have always really liked the older Holmes of the later adventures, with his rheumatism and breakdowns. If there is anything that bothers me about this modern version is that, in series 2 especially, he is too buff and healthy.

 

[Arcadia]

I don't know, it doesn't usually bother me when characters age, but for some reason this just bugs me. I don't get it. Maybe I expect it to be melancholy, and I try to avoid that when I can ... ?

 

 

"Too buff and healthy..." Now that made me laugh!!!