Ian McKellen as an ageing Sherlock Holmes. The guy is good. Soooo good.
Truly, I don't think I've seen McKellen be better.
I mean, I'm not across his back catalogue or anything, but you get the idea.
This film is current day 93 year old Holmes living with housekeeper Laura Linney and her young son. Holmes and the young boy form a lovely bond though it's a bit sad that it's often in unity against Linney's Mrs Munroe. It's a nice story of connection between the two but the other story running through the film is better, to my mind. As current day Holmes is increasingly losing his memory to dementia, he's trying to remember an intriguing case from back in the day for a book he's writing. The two stories run together pretty effortlessly.
I suspect it's a fairly sugar-coated depiction of dementia but I guess given everyone's experience of the disease is different, it's not for me to judge.
Here's a four star review from the Sydney Morning Herald if you want to know more. Happily recommend this.
Trailer here.