"Sherlock Holmes" (2009) Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Ed Augusts
ably portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr., is a fighting man, a man, not
quite of steel, but who can plan his next ten punches as well as a
chess champion can his next ten chess moves.. There is a roughness
about him, he is not a fop, a dandy, or some hobbyist. He doesn't
look down his nose at anybody, he seems to have stepped outside the
19th Century world of class and fashion, and that is one of the few
not-very believable new elements we notice in this film.
The film centers on a wonderful idea: a Secret Society, very like a
cross between the mystical O.T.O. that Aleister Crowley and Arthur
Edward Waite were members of, and the Masonic Lodge, which we are more
familiar with the United States. This group of Victorian Rosicrucians
or Theosophists with their fancy regalia and lordly positions, is in
danger of being taken over by the sinister forces of one man, Lord
Blackwood, whom we see attempting to sacrifice an attractive young
woman in an occult ritual at the start of the movie. Usually this
kind of occult group is done in a hokey way, but not in this movie.
This movie uses a measure of every good thing, but never too much of
any good thing. Usually in mysteries, short work is made of the
offending oath-bearing coven, but here, it extends on and on, and
becomes a more powerful influence as the movie continues. We are
deftly led to believe that something really occult and horrible is
taking place in London, that England, and then the world, will be
taken over by evil. But this is not likely to happen while Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Watson are breathing -- so, the evil doer's wisest task
is to throw everything they have at killing-off the crime-solving
pair. We get one very short character, and one huge one, bigger than
any football player or wrestler living today. And we also get a
wonderful attempt to get late 19th Century London right. The street
and buildings look good, the distant city-scape, St. Paul's, just a
quick glimpse of the Tower of London complex -- as well as Parliament
and Tower Bridge, just being built at that time, are all well-done,
as is the depiction of the River Thames -- London at sea-level, so to
speak! At least one reviewer complains the city is dark and grimy,
and indeed, it was just like that in those days, muck in the gutters,
and all... but there is a golden or silvery glow on distant steeples
and towers. This film brings London of about 1890 or so, back to us
effectively.
Downey is a better Holmes than we are used to seeing. He's better in
several ways: The vice of cocaine addiction which has previously been
shown in connection with the character is here, thankfully, absent.
He does have a quirky, always experimental, turn-of-mind, but he only
goes into a strange state of mind if some beautiful woman has drugged
him, he is not a habitue to any vice that we can see, and the
meticulous mind as well as lightnng-fast responses, are well-
portrayed So, too, in this movie, there is no more stuffy Dr,
Watson, for he, too, is a man of action, well-worth Sherlock's company
and trust on these oft-brutal assignations and assignments. Jude Law
does a great portrayal of Watson, sharing but not ever stealing the
spotlight from Robert Downey who is superbly 'in character' throughout
the proceedings. There is not much that can be done with Inspector
Lastrade, ably portrayed by Eddie Marsan. But taking a prize as the
quietly manipulative, power-hungry occultist, is Mark Strong as Lord
Blackwood. Another favorite here is Robert Maillet as Dredger, who
plays a BIG role here as an almost invulnerable, seemingly seven foot
tall, bad guy.
There are two woman in the film, other than the old landlady, Mrs.
Hudson, played by Geraldine James, whom we see for just a few
obligatory seconds. One of them is Watson's lady friend whom he
wishes to marry, if it were only possible for him to stay clear of the
mischievous and tempting world of crime-solving that his friend,
Holmes always dangles in front of him. That young lady is played as
good as the minor role allows, by Kelly Reilly.. The other woman is
the femme fatale of this story, a lady of mystery and crime, the kind
of beauty who can be seduced by wealth and power and drag her friends
into that world as well. She's played by Rachel McAdams. Holmes has a
marked weakness for this woman, whom, we are told, has bested him
twice in the past.
There is an almost obligatory INFERNAL DEVICE which I sure couldn't
figure out, and maybe you won't either, but just because Lord
Blackwood's device is a bit implausible (radio waves in the 1880's or
'90's?), doesn't mean it isn't fun. There is a cool way this tale
seems related to the very real "Guy Fawk's Gunpowder Plot" of 1605
which almost blew away England's legislative body. At least U.K.
viewers will 'get' the reference even though U.S. watchers probably
haven't read their history to the point of recognition. Besides, the
evil contraption is a perfect justification for a token, last-minute
reference to Moriarty, the sinister villain of the Holmes epic that
was first published in "The Strand", in 1891. I found dredging up
Moriarty near the end of the story was just a shameless way to placate
the purists who know the old story very well, and also to justify a
"Part Two". These able characters, including the major actors and the
director, and the people who staged it, made the scenery, costumes --
everything! -- should do a whole series of these, even though sequels
are always an invitation for lesser-quality material verging sometimes
on 'hack-work'. Hopefully that won't happen to THIS Sherlock!
Best, -------Ed