Mr. Holmes [DVD + Digital]

"Mr. Holmes" is a 2015 mystery film based on the Jeffrey Hatcher screenplay adaptation of the Mitch Cullin 2005 novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind". The film stars Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes. Set in 1947, the long-retired Sherlock Holmes lives in a rural Sussex farmhouse with his widowed housekeeper and her young son. The now-93-year-old elderly Holmes struggles with a slowly deteriorating mind, trying to recall the true details of the last case he investigated 35 years earlier, which caused him to retire from his only unsolved case, "The Adventure of the Dove Grey Glove." Released in Britain on June 19, 2015, and in the United States on July 17, 2015.Mitch Cullen's 2005 novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind" is not an adaptation of any Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes body of work. Cullen explains, he simply uses the fictional character Sherlock Holmes "as a work of literary device to explore other subjects that exist beyond anything Conan Doyle conceived or wrote about." As such, "Mr. Holmes" is not a 'pastiche' because it does not imitate Doyle's work. "Mr. Holmes" presents a new and unique imagining of Sherlock Holmes in his dotage struggling with memory loss; not as a detective. There is no comparable canon or oeuvre.In adapting the book "A Slight Trick of the Mind" to the screen, the screenplay for the film "Mr. Holmes" made some significant changes, such as renaming important characters, changing the fate of the boy, and considerably changing the end of the story. In a commentary on this subject, the author of the book, Mitch Cullin said: "I'm philosophical about the changes. The book is the book, the film is the film…. To say a film is 'loosely based on a novel' should go without saying. All film adaptions of novels are loosely based, which is an understandable by-product of the narrative compression that occurs when moving a story from one medium to an entirely different one. "But I'm very proud of the film, especially how it maintained the heart, soul, and integrity of my novel while still providing a more upbeat conclusion than my version. In truth, the positive outcome that the film provides is closer now to how I feel about life, as opposed to the rather dark, pessimistic place I was in when the novel was written.""When writing "A Slight Trick of the Mind" I used that book ("Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" by Baring-Gould) as my 'Holmes' bible, not any of the Conan Doyle stories. It was Baring-Gould's timeline that I followed. I even gave a shout out to "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" in the acknowledgments of the novel. It's such a wonderful book. When Ian McKellen was readying to play Holmes for the film, I recommended the Baring Gould one to him. I'm glad you mentioned "Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" since it's my favorite 'Holmes' book, and one of the few that has remained on my bookshelves over the years."It is fitting that this movie was recommended to me by a friend, for this movie is a tribute to friendship. It is a mystery of life, not of death. To say more would spoil the vital moral of this story. Altogether, the story, the settings, and the acting are engrossing and captivating. The acting is passionate and pragmatic – at once brilliant and masterful, both convincing and heartfelt. The settings are down-to-earth and true-to-life. This movie slowly reveals its subtleties and complexities, which, in the end, will capture your heart. For me, I wept.

I loved that. It was clean and intelligently written with fantastic actors, and the three main characters were phenomenal in their acting abilities. I can’t believe I cried at one part. I wish there were more movies like this.

This has become one of my favorite movies which I watch with my son every few months or so.This movie is based on the book "A Slight Trick of the Mind" and like many of the pastiches about Sherlock Holmes, he is pictured as cold, unfeeling, unattached by anything human, resorts to drugs when bored (which I maintain is an utter lie), and cannot fathom deeper human feelings. I submit to you, my reader, that these are all untrue.I have read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stores and the mention of cocaine use appears in only one story that I am aware of. I believe this was used by Holmes to counter rheumatoid arthritis, which he might have suffered from. This can attack very young people too not just the elderly.How does a person who can tell someone his/her job, his/her current status, where he/she was that morning, how he/she got to 221B, what he/she is feeling at the moment and so on, how can Sherlock not feel what the other person feels or, worse yet, become cold to the feelings of others if he can so accurately detail the feelings of any person? I submit to you that not only does he feel, but he is more human than the writers detail and far more likely that he suffers strong human emotions just as we all do and is more in tune with life than pictured. In the book I mention, he is portrayed as very cold and aloof. He befriends Roger, the young boy, and becomes his father in a sense, but when tragedy strikes Roger, the book and partially the movie, make it seem Holmes does not care. He does and it is the powerful empathy he does exhibit for Roger in the movie, much more so than the book, that makes Holmes finally real and human and some one who can be hurt easily by other humans. I believe this is why he is portrayed as cold at times, not because he is, but it is a defense mechanism for he does care so much. In the book for instance, he falls in love with Ann Kelmot, but being a gentleman and not wanting to destroy a marriage, he keeps her at arms length though he does want to be with her. In the movie, it is spelled out by Ann as she offers to go with him: "Do you know a place were two such lonely souls can reside?" It is clear offer of love. He later admits he did not have the courage to go with her, the courage to offer the love he too felt. He realizes he gave her the last reason she needed to commit suicide and this realization almost destroys Holmes. This was his last case and the reason for this decision, dear reader, is that the human side of him could not accept the inadequate response he gave her and what she deserved from him, his caring, maybe even love. She told him earlier that she was furious her husband needed a detective to determine what was hurting her and controlled her actions. She tells Holmes: "if anyone could understand me, it is you". The powerful pathos of this statement is obvious and the idea that Holmes is only a machine is forever destroyed in my mind by his actions later. He did love her, he just did not understand how to show it and this, my dear reader, is often a problem of us males and how we sometime fail to understand the fairer sex and the resulting sorrows we impart.I highly recommend this story, for it is one in which bit by bit you will learn more of the character called Sherlock Holmes.His creator brought him alive at a time when crimes often went unsolved unless they were the simple home crimes of passion. The other crimes of murder went undiscovered until much later. Holmes became that force, that power to protect the innocent, those in need, and he did this with unerring power and aplomb. Forever, and ever shall he be a force of good and a force to protect human dignity. Never will I accept he used drugs as an escape from life, never will I accept he was unfeeling, cold, untouched by other humans. Never will I accept this. The movie Mr. Holmes will show you why partially I say this and I hope you will agree with my assessments.Joe

I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon this movie. It was very well worth the watch. Not only great acting, but it was written extremely well. I felt as if I was a part of it all.

Très bon achat qui donne toute satisfaction.

15oo plus reviews so mine won'y matter much, but my wife and I enjoyed the film a lot and it is worth noting why. First...The BLURAY - Excellent quality showing off the excellent photography - lush locations, closeups etc. The sound is steady (no need to have your mobile handy), the subtitles (optional) are excellent. The film?....It is slow but perfectly paced, with an intereting quite gripping plot, which, considering there is no "action" as such, says a lot for the writer(s). The acting, as you would expect from the cast, is spot on. Ian McKellan allows himself to be even older than he was. He is superb. Also due honours is Laura Linney, one of my favourite actresses, almost unrecogisable as a 40 something widow with a young son, and he is a real find and almost the glue that holds the film together - Milo Parker. The time changes back to just after "the great war" can sometimes be just a tad confusing, but soon that settles in very nicely. I enjoyed trying to work out the ending (and failed). Obviously this is not a film for everyone (see one and two star reviews), but honestly? If you enjoy a serious well made unpretentious film with touches of real drama, pathos and humour, plus all the cast who fill their cameos brilliantly (what on earth was Phil Davis, one of our best character actors DOING?/Did ehe read the script? Maybe he had a "friends day out"!!! It is a good price and well worth a go, just be sure of your expectations - It is not a typical "Holmes" tale.

Sherlock Holmes is losing his memory and trying to solve his most important mystery at the same time. What did he do wrong? He searched out the facts as no one before him had done, yet the present is just beyond his grasp. People venerate him and are angry with him. Why? The one thing that is clear is that Roger, the son of his housekeeper, is a boy he is close to. The grandson he never had? He teaches Roger about beekeeping. Bees are only trying to live their lives and stay safe. They are not trying to attack their keepers.Holmes is learning about vulnerability: his own, the clients he failed, and that of the people he shares his life with. Will he discover the solution to his life before it is too late?This is a sad and beautiful movie, an exploration of what is important for the very very old who have only the present and no future. Highly recommended.

Se trata de una buena pelicula donde vemos la vejez de sherlock holmes, muy buena interpretación. Se recomienda su compra.

Das Filmcover preist diesen Film an mit: Eine kluge, pointierte Darstellung voll feinsinnigen Humor oder Einfach meisterhaft oder Großartig gespielt oder Gefühlvolles berührendes Drama. Alles von diesem entspricht dieser Film und darüber hinaus noch viel mehr… Doch in Wirklichkeit geht es um den Mann Holmes hinter dem Mythos und sein Alter.Filmtitel: Mr. Holmes (Produktionsland: GB, USA; 2015)Inhalt:Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) ist mittlerweile 93 Jahre alt. Nach einem, für ihn unerledigten Fall vor etwa 30 Jahren hat er sich aus der Kriminalwelt aufs Land zurückgezogen und züchtet Bienen. Sein Partner und Freund Dr. Watson und seine Haushälterin Miss Hudson sind schon lange tot. Er hat eine neue Haushälterin Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) die einen hochintelligenten Sohn Roger (Milo Parker) hat mit dem er sich anfreundet. Er zeigt ihm die Welt des Spürsinns in der Detektivarbeit. Doch der letzte Fall hat ihn immer noch nicht losgelassen. Er will versuchen diesen vor seinem Tod noch zu lösen. Nur hat er vergessen wie es damals ausging, weil die Alterssenilität ihm sein Gedächtnis raubt. Und ein Detektiv ohne Gedächtnis ist als Detektiv nichts mehr wert. Nebenbei versucht er mittels eines Lebensmittels geliefert von einem japanischen Industriellen (Hiroyuki Sanada) seinen Geist wieder zu schärfen. Dazu musste er jedoch nach Japan reisen und lernt dort das Land nach dem Atombombenabwurf kennen.Kritik:Der Mann hinter dem Mythos zeigt einen gebrechlichen, verletzlichen Sherlock Holmes der noch bis ins hohe Alter mit einem falschen Bild in der Öffentlichkeit herhalten muss, weil sein früherer Partner und Freund Watson ihn in seinen Bücher falsch dargestellt hatte. Vortrefflich war auch die Geschichte um die Lady in Grau, deren Schicksal Holmes bis ins hohe Alter nicht zur Ruhe kommen lässt. Der Film selbst teilt sich in drei Handlungssträngen auf. Der japanische Part nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg und den Atombombenabwürfen ist zwar ein Nebenstrang, fügt sich aber in das Leben und Holmes Bestimmung gut ein. Doch ebenso bestechend ist die gut gespielte Dreierbeziehung Holmes, seine Haushälterin und ihren Sohn Roger, was wohl das unterhaltsamste an diesem Film war.Die Geschichte ist langsam und kommt vor allem Anfangs kaum in die Gänge und der japanische Handlungsstrang ist nicht wirklich von Nöten gewesen, da er nicht wirklich in die Geschichte passt und wie ein Fremdkörper wirkt und nur einen geraumen unerheblichen Zeitabschnitt von Holmes erzählt, auch wenn es ihn berührte. Aber erst nach und nach wird klar, was die japanische Nebengeschichte auf sich hat und zeigt einen Teil von Holmes Ängsten und Leben. Aber die Geschichten fügen sich dennoch filmisch perfekt ein und die Schauspieler und deren Dialoge machen den Film zu einem sehenswerten Schauspiel das kaum jemanden wohl unberührt lässt.Aber der Film läuft auch Gefahr für manche langweilig zu wirken. Holmes ist dieses Mal weniger oder eigentlich kaum eine Kriminalgeschichte, sondern ein Sozialdrama um einen gebrechlichen dementen alten Mann und die Freundschaft zu einem kleinen Jungen der ihn ein wenig an ihn selbst erinnerte. Zudem wird Holmes der sonst immer Öffentlichkeitsscheu und verschroben dargestellt wurde, hier schon fast zu einem Menschenfreund.Jedenfalls ist Mr. Holmes kein actionangereicherter Film, sondern ein langsamer Film der nicht nur Holmes in seiner typischen analytischen Arbeit zeigt, sondern auch den letzten Lebensabschnitt eines alten Mannes präsentiert. Auch wenn McKellen den körperlich auf dem Gehstock gebrechlichen Mann in seinen Bewegungen ein wenig zu agil zeigte. Was mir besonders gefiel war einfach Ian McKellens Mienenspiel das grandios ausdrückte was in Holmes vorging, auch den verschmitzten Humor den man sonst bei Holmes so wohl noch kaum gesehen hatte. Auch wenn man vielleicht von dieser Holmesverfilmung ein wenig enttäuscht sein sollte, Fans von Ian McKellen werden durch seine Schausspielkraft voll auf ihre Kosten kommen.Laufzeit des Filmes:105 Minuten.Qualität der Blu-Ray:Bildqualität: 1080p (2,35.1). Das Bild ist scharf und ohne Bildstörungen und die Farben der Landschaften sind schön zu ansehen.Tonqualität: Deutsch und Englisch DTS-HD 5.1. Der Ton ist gut und die Dialoge gut verständlich.