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Written by: Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote (screenplay), Richard Osman (book)
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Naomi Ackie, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Richard E. Grant
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
Four irrepressible retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands.
Verdict
It's a murder mystery with more than a few twists as retirees try to save their home and find a killer at the same time. It has it's cute moments as almost everyone underestimates the group due to their age. That leads to more than a few scenes of triumph. This at least provided all the pieces where you might could make a guess as to who did what, some mystery movies don't even provide that, but this never felt cinematic. It does just enough, but it doesn't have the intention to do anything more. Everything that happens his subdued.
It depends.
Review
A group of retirees, Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), investigate cold cases in their spare time at the retirement home. Their first case is the death of a woman whom her boyfriend claimed happened at the hands of an attacker. I wondered if it was a clue when they mentioned the boyfriend ran after the attacker, and they later state he was former military discharged for a knee injury. Is that an indication his story about running after the culprit is false or did the movie miss a detail?
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| Ben Kingley, Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan play Ibrahim, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron |
Joyce (Celia Imrie) is a new member, and the group is quick to welcome her as a former nurse that can aid their investigations with her insight.
It's clear Ventham (David Tennant) is the villain with his sunglasses, expensive car, and over dressing. He's co-owner of the home and wants to sell it. His partner doesn't and then ends up dead. The Thursday Murder Club is ready to begin. Ventham is the main suspect with plenty of motive, but that doesn't last long. A third, unnamed partner is discovered, Bobby Tanner (Richard E. Grant). He's a gangster that's disappeared, and he has connections to Ron's son.
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| Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Naomie Ackie, Ben Kingley, Helen Mirren, play Ron, Joyce, Donna, Ibrahim, Elizabeth |
The Club recruits police constable Donna (Naomi Ackie) by managing to get her assigned to the case. They share information back and forth as the Club is quite adept. It seems Elizabeth may have ties to MI5 or a similar spy organization. She's able to pull a lot of strings to make thing happen. Eventually she manages to put enough pieces together to figure it out. That ties into the cold case we first saw, and Joyce becomes an official member of the Thursday Murder Club.
This isn't bad, but it never had the feel of a movie. It feels smaller, like a television show. The movie at least feels like all the pieces were present. Many modern mysteries feel like they purposely obscure the clues just to throw you off. Intentional or not, I figured this out just ahead of when the movie reveals it. Even then, there's still more to solve. Don't forget about the cold case at the beginning of the movie.
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