MR. HOLMES (PG)

WHO’S IN IT?

Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings), Colin Starkey (Inspector Lewis), Laura Linney (Kinsey), Hattie Morahan (The Bank Job), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine), Patrick Kennedy (War Horse), Roger Allam (The Queen), Phil Davis (Vera Drake), Frances de la Tour (The History Boys), Milo Parker (Robot Overlords), Nicholas Rowe (Enigma), Sarah Crowden (Brideshead Revisited), John Sessions (Filth)

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters), director; Jeffrey Hatcher (The Duchess), writer; Iain Canning (The King’s Speech), Anne Carey (Adventureland) and Emile Sherman (Shame), producers; Carter Burwell (A Serious Man), composer; Tobias A. Schliessler (Hancock), cinematographer; Virginia Katz (Dreamgirls), editor

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Sherlock Holmes (McKellen), the famous detective of Baker Street, has retired at the grand old age of 93 and, in post-war 1947, moves to a remote farmhouse in Sussex with his housekeeper Mrs Munro (Linney) and her young son Roger (Parker). There, he spends his final days tending to his bees, writing in his journals, and thinking back to his time as a more youthful and more active sleuth, along with his partner in crime Dr John Watson (Starkey). However, one particular case that remains unsolved continues to haunt him, but because Holmes’ mind isn’t as brilliant as it once was it leaves him with only fragments of the clues. Nevertheless, he sets out to provide some closure to the case once and for all…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

Mr. Holmes takes a very different and fascinating direction with the classic Arthur Conan Doyle character, portraying him as a severely aged man at the tether end of his life and seeing how his brain can function, if at all, around a normal case like the good old days – and, seeing how it’s Ian McKellen playing him, it’s no doubt going to be as awesome as you’d expect.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 19TH JUNE 2015

Search from over ten years of movies here:

Other recent reviews:

After the Hunt (dir. Luca Guadagnino)

A college professor becomes caught between a scandal involving her colleague and her student…

BFI London Film Festival 2025 Reviews: Hamnet, Jay Kelly and more!

Our coverage of this year’s BFI London Film Festival continues with our exclusive write-ups on some of the most buzzed titles from this year’s edition, including Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, It Was Just an Accident and others!

Black Phone 2 (dir. Scott Derrickson)

Finney confronts his former kidnapper in unexpected ways…

Roofman (dir. Derek Cianfrance)

An escaped criminal hides out in a Toys “R” Us store…

Good Fortune (dir. Aziz Ansari)

A guardian angel meddles in the lives of a wealthy entrepreneur and a struggling gig worker…

Plainclothes (dir. Carmen Emmi)

An undercover police officer falls for his latest target…

Tron: Ares (dir. Joachim Rønning)

A super-intelligent program is sent from the digital world to ours for a bold mission…

Good Boy (dir. Ben Leonberg)

A loyal dog witnesses his owner succumb to supernatural forces…

I Swear (dir. Kirk Jones)

A young man with Tourette’s syndrome struggles to live with his condition…

BFI London Film Festival 2025 Reviews: The Secret Agent, Twinless and more!

Our first collection of reviews from this year’s BFI London Film Festival includes write-ups on some of the most anticipated titles from this year’s edition, including Sirât, Left-Handed Girl and others!

Optimized by Optimole