Ian McKellen makes a pretty good old Sherlock, so much do that this film makes one wonder what he might have done with the role in his younger days. I doubt he could have unseated the legendary Jeremy Brett, but he could have been at least an adequate substitute. Here he plays the consulting detective in his last days, approaching death and loaded with regrets, and the whole package delivers both the keenness we’ve come to expect from the famous man and a vulnerability that reminds us that even the greatest of humankind are not without their flaws (even if the representation is of a fictional character). Laura Linney as the old Holmes’s housekeeper and Milo Parker as the housekeeper's son and the detective's unlikely compatriot provide quality supporting work. The story delivers the kind of logical flourishes one expects from a tale of Sherlock solving—or in this instance, trying to remember—a long ago case, though given the circumstances of Holmes being in his deep twilight, the plot simply could not include the level of action and danger that were hallmarks of the canon. No matter—you just have to be satisfied with a movie that entertains and intrigues on a quieter, subtler level than the usual. There’s reason enough to stay on the trail of this flick.
