Sherlock Holmes. 128 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Guy Ritchie; Written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg; Released by Warner Bros in association with Village Roadshow Pictures; Cast includes Robert Downey Jnr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong.
At a glance: Robert Downey Jnr can do anything.
Beginning with A Study in Scarlet (1887), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring his 'Consulting Detective' Sherlock Holmes, who would be most famously portrayed (in 14 films) by South African born, English actor Basil Rathbone. Throughout Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' canon (and the more than 200 dramatisations for film and television to follow), the pipe-smoking detective of 221B Baker Street, London, was renowned for his focus on logical thought, quaint philosophising and his unequalled powers of observation and deduction – not to forget his instantly recognisable cap, cape and cane.
Not any more. From the first frame, Mr Ritchie (who burst over the horizon in 1998 with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) dispenses with the mannered elegance and mild eccentricities of Sherlocks past and delivers, instead, a thrilling, white-knuckled ride through a post-modern Sherlock Holmes adventure so entirely of our time that it risks casting a museum-like pall over all that has gone before.
It is late in the 19th century and London's now iconic Tower Bridge is under construction. Master of the Occult, Lord Blackwood (a superbly malevolent Mr Strong), is sentenced to a date with the hangman for the death of a number women; but no sooner is he pronounced dead by none other than Dr Watson (Mr Law, who is finally back in form), he resurrects himself to resume his evil plan to lead his cult-like organisation to political domination.
More 007 than Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes' forensically researched screenplay (two writers are credited with the story and three with the screenplay) is melded to the screen with absolute relish and conviction, and features a blisteringly good performance from Mr Downey Jnr in the title role. Referred to in Doyle's stories as a formidable 'bare-knuckle fighter' and someone who has used martial arts on more than one occasion to dispense with his foes, Mr Ritchie and his collaborators introduce their Sherlock to us from deep within the underbelly of a heavy-duty, industrialised Victorian England; where Holmes' peculiar eccentricities are first revealed through the methodology he uses to dispatch of his much stronger and physically capable opponents in a boxing match.
While it is unarguable that Mr Ritchie really needed a high-impact, box office triumph to re-ignite our faith (and Hollywood's investment) in him (Swept Away, anyone? Revolver?), he has fortuitously found himself in incredibly accomplished company, and in the meantime, has managed to rediscover his sense of humour which has been sadly missing from much of his recent ouput. Much of the credit for this revolutionary imagining belongs to Philippe Rousselot's (Oscar-winner for A river runs through it) fiercely stylised, monochromatically-inspired cinematography, the deliciously rendered detail of Sarah Greenwood's (Atonement) glorious production design, and Hans Zimmer's (Gladiator) ravishing score that appears, at times, to forge the high-octane pace Mr Ritchie has set for the film.
James Herbert's editing keeps the film moving swiftly with hardly a dull moment, and while audiences will be more than familiar with both the slow- and fast-motion devices used to accentuate pivotal plot points and reveals, here they are used with great efficiency and expert timing – particularly as Holmes solves the intricate web of crimes and their association to each other. Ms McAdams (the ill-fated Regina in Mean Girls) is a worthy adversary for our recalcitrant hero, and Kelly Reilly turns in a beautifully affecting performance as Dr Watson's long-suffering fiancée Mary Morstan. But it is Mr Downey Jnr whose performance is worth the price of admission alone. And yes, the heavily sign-posted sequel is already in pre-production.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.
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