It’s hard to get past the sterling ability of Ian McKellen to create spectacular life in any character, and the Sherlock Holmes character is fertile ground for McKellen’s superlative histrionics. 
Mr. Holmes (2015, rated PG, 104 minutes) is worth your time on several levels, starting with the talented Mr. McKellen and Laura Linney (playing his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro). There’s a mystery (of course!) and Holmes’ almost pathetic attempts to solve the cold case that ended his career are good drama.
The dramatic crux of the movie is a brief scene with his client of yore, Ann Kelmot, (played by Hattie Morahan), who made him an offer he shouldn’t have refused. Holmes comes to understand the full measure of his regret as he remembers more details of their final interview.
The pathos is overwhelming:
(Ann Kelmot) “The dead are not so very far away. They’re just on the other side of the wall. It’s us on this side who are all of us so…”
(Sherlock Holmes) “…alone.”
You have time to watch this one.
Watch Mr. Holmes through Kanopy
Request Mr. Holmes on DVD through Minuteman Library Network
Request Mr. Holmes on BLU-RAY through Minuteman
Request the book Sherlock Holmes: the complete novels and stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Download the digital audiobook Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
