BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Mr. Holmes

**Posted by Oscar1965** February 3, 2018 1:09 am

I don't know if there was a topic discussing this movie. I just watched it on Netflix and was very moved by the lead actor's rendering of Sherlock Holmes in his very old age. Poor man trying to solve one last case with his fleeting memory and terrible loneliness...

I cried like a baby to the last scenes. A very tender, gentle and in the end, sorrowful story.

**Posted by nakahara** February 10, 2018 6:03 pm

I watched Mr. Holmes in the summer and indeed, the movie is beautifully filmed, with strong performance from Ian McKellern and very, very moving. But I found the outcome of the movie to be fairly positive, full of harmony and acceptance of life.... that was a very nice to see, they rarely make movies like that nowadays.

**Posted by Ariane DeVere** March 2, 2018 8:03 am

It was a lovely film. I don't watch much Sherlock Holmes outside the Sherlock series but a friend who I met through the fandom wanted to see it while she was in London and so we went to the cinema to see it, and she had to give me tissues at the end because I was snivelling so much.

The scene where we realised that Holmes and Watson never lived at 221B but in a house on the other side of the road annoyed the heck out of me, only because I'd never thought of it myself as a twist for any fanfic I was writing!

**Posted by Vhanja** June 24, 2018 10:22 am

I watched this movie yesterday with my Sherlock-friend. Ian McKellen was stellar, as always. He's a joy to watch, so skilled and solid as an actor. And I thought the premise itself was very interesting, about the retired Sherlock Holmes. Not to mention it made my fan heart so happy to finally see him having bees!

But to be honest, I was also a bit disappointed. Having Sherlock, of all people, struggling with dementia wa something I thought they could have done so much more with. And I didn't like that that he and John had just gotten estranged and that Sherlock thought John didn't know him and all. And Sherlock being all alone - Mycroft, John, Mrs Hudson, all gone. So sad!

And I'm not too fond of having children play a key part like this. Being the motivator, being innocent etc etc. It's just overdone.

Also, there is a fine line between having Sherlock growing and developing (like he does in the BBC version) and having him change so much that he loses that was makes him special. Ian McKellen is amazing in this part, but I wished he would be just a little bit more... Sherlock.

With that all said, I really enjoyed the movie. It's nice to see a slow-paced movie in this day and age.

Last edited by Vhanja (June 24, 2018 10:25 am)

**Posted by Yitzock** June 25, 2018 11:11 pm

The film didn't get great reviews when it came out, as I recall, and I haven't had a chance yet to see it, but it's nice to hear at least a quasi-endorsment of it.
That does sound sad, to think of Sherlock Holmes having dementia. It's kind of a pertinent topic, considering the aging population and thus the increase in people who have dementia and Alzheimer's (two of my grandparents included), but I guess it doesn't work for everybody. I remember being saddened that Kurt Wallander's story ends with dementia as well. Stories that end with people forgetting what happened in their lives always kind of upset me, even if overall they are good stories. It makes everything seem pointless, in a way. Or at least, non-dementia-related stories like that especially make me feel that way.