Monday, January 11, 2010
Edgy, my dear holmes?
Edgy, my dear Holmes?
WARNING: Hard core fans of Conan Doyles hero, I ask that you not to be indulgent but open minded, and non judgmental. Give yourself to rediscover Holmes and non-fans, discover him.
Downey Jr, small but fit, blood smeared and sweaty faces a thug, double his size. A little voice in his head methodically, logically, precisely calculates how to defeat his opponent. Which he then does. One of my favourite scenes in the film. But Sherlock Holmes just happens to be in a boxing ring.
You cannot deny, this is a fun film, in fact it’s a CRACKER of a film, but it isn’t Holmes, at least not like we’ve always known him! Now don’t get me wrong, I liked that Ritchie gives his Holmes brains and brawn, and all those bits of smart deductive reasoning were actually my favourite parts of the film and I wish he’d stayed with them more. But Ritchie takes HOLMES into a whole, new terrain giving us a thumping, racing, action packed, fantasy adventure complete with classic good versus evil and age old magic! While stuff gets melodramatic especially in the second half, the accents are sometimes garbled/difficult to understand, the plot is crowded, and lacks that simple elegance and layered wit of the originals, and the films sets things up ALL too easily for a sequel, Ritchie does it all with sweeping confidence, fabulous costumes, fantastic cinematography, a moody atmosphere, and a an irresistible leading pair.
Eccentric, gruff and often very funny, Downey Jr, is at is wide eyed, intelligent best and makes for a tiny, power-packed, not always ‘stable’ but incredibly bright modern day Holmes, and the chemistry between LAW & him like an old school screwball comedy is lively, palpable, and engaging and holds this one together. (Again, the better parts of the film are all those bits of repartee, comraderie, domestic issues, fisticuffs and the relationship between not just detective and sidekick but also friends, brothers, roommates. Any underlying homoerotic tendencies are open to debate… as we know both Holmes addiction issues and homosexuality have always been open ended questions… hmmm)
The start of what is obviously going to be a franchise, GUY RITCHIE’s HOLMES offers little in terms of plot but sails through on the strength of its characters, concept and two central actors. lets hope the next one stays with them more and keeps things a little simpler and frill-less. Nonetheless, LAW & DOWNEY JR. are the cooolest duo around at the movies for now! and this one is a contemporary, stylish, beautiful to watch version of Conan Doyle’s famous detective hero stamped with Ritchie’s trademarks- darkly comic, often violent, always clever and very entertaining on a scale even the director hasnt ventured into before this!
Monday, January 11, 2010
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5 comments:
terrific film. had guy ritchie style stamped all over it. The two leads were really good.
completely agree with the accents drowning the words in some places. i wish that was clearer. I felt i wasnt listening hard enough.
the sequel sounds sumptuous. cant wait for it.
Surprisingly, I felt that the portrayal of Holmes wasn't extraordinarily far off the original, despite everyone's fondness of talking about the 'updating'. Whats been updated, and perhaps exaggerated, is the tone. The books have several explicit references to Holmes fondness for indoor gun practice, boxing, martial arts and occasional use of cocaine. On one occasion, he even mentions fending of about five thugs with sticks (courtesy Professor Moriarty), sustaining few injuries. Indeed the only new element in Holmes seemed to be his unreserved brashness about the whole thing. Watson on the other hand, does seem to have enrolled in some sort of extremely effective self confidence seminar. In fact the only thing disappointing to someone seeking a bit of vintage Holmes (well, not entirely) was the script, which could have used some genuine intelligence instead of occasional superficial flourishes of deduction. Perhaps not with baited breath, but Im still looking forward to Holmes 2, not to mention Sacha Baron Cohen's take on Homes, if that isnt indeed some kind of elaborate hoax for his next alter ago.
thanks for your comments guys... yeas siddharth, i completly agree ritchie and Downey Jr have retained alot of the character but its the mood, style and attitude that is PURE ritchie and its stuff we have seen before as far as the director goes- the stylish technique, dark humour, dark atmosphere, lots of tostesterone, all multilpied on a huge (if slightly melodramatic scale, especially towards the end)- this one became a good versus evil tale finally and like you yes, those nuggets of deductive logic (as in the boxing scene-superbly executed and a great contemporry translation!) were what i wanted MORE of!
but in Ritchie's hands we also get the cool male bravado, cockiness, and slight hints of arrogance in Holmes.. dont get me wrong, while i loved the modern inetpretation giving him both the brains and the OVERT brawn, the hints of his cocaine use, his neuroses and his eccentricities (also thanks to DOWNEY's fantastic, nuancd, wide yed, blazingly alive performance!), i did miss the old world charm of a brilliant mn who is unaware of that brilliance, for whom it is always, but , 'elementary'... :)
keeep writing in guys and check out the chicks on flicks AFI project of the 100 best films of all time.. the countdown has begun!
cheers
Wow. I must say, I wasnt expecting anyone to even read, let alone reply, to that :)
I must also mention that Hans Zimmer's score for the film was a surprisingly delightful and effective blend of eccentricity and testosterone. As a fan of modern Hollywood soundtracks, I keep my fingers crossed that someday critics would start giving more review-space to the music in the movies (though I suppose it would turn off most of the audience). It goes a long way towards making the film, even is its invisible.
And, this is perhaps a little awkward so I apologize beforehand, but when you re 18, and your mum's rather fond of Lilette Dubey, and you adore a little film called The President is Coming, having a conversation (of sorts) with Ira Dubey does seem like a rather big thing. So, thank you for that :)
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