Sherlock Holmes

Saw Sherlock Holmes (Thanks, Basil!) It was a romp. The film follows the famous detective duo Holmes and Watson as they track down a mysterious figure who is apparently able to perform actual magic. Holmes is played as a super-genius of inhuman levels who stays shut up in his room all day but somehow knows the city of London down to its pastry shops, down to its sewer system layout. I don't care how photographic your memory, that's a bit much. But okay, that's the nature of the beast. We are also treated to all of the major characters of the Holmes universe: Watson's fiancee Mary, Mrs. Hudson, "The Woman" (AKA Irene Adler) even Prof Moriarty whom we're apparently just meeting now, despite many references to this being their "last adventure."

They're also playing Holmes a bit queer here, I thought. All of the women in the film have a somewhat adversarial relationship with Holmes. Mrs Hudson is his overbearing nanny, Irene Adler cannot be trusted at all, and Mary is trying to steal Watson away which Holmes reacts to like an injured lover. Holmes and Watson even squabble about the ownership of "their" dog for heaven's sake! Of course this is only one interpretation (they could also be good friends) but I think the ambiguity is left there as a sort of bait. Between this film and Pirates of the Caribbean, I wonder if this we perhaps went through another cultural flirtation with bisexuality.

Anyway, this film was directed by showman extraordinaire Guy Ritchie who frantically speeds up and slows down the action, the better to show off a ripping punch to the jaw. He tilts and whirls his camera around some downright carnivalesque, steam-punk version of London, full of facial deformities, grimy vests, and top hats. The visuals are amazing and the story, although it does not grapple with the ethical dilemmas of modern man, is substantive enough to support these images. The spectacle is sort of the point anyway. And if you enjoy seeing something though, don't worry, you'll see it again: first in Holmes' mind before it happens, then again as it happens, and then in flashback when it's explained how it fits into the mystery (three times in all, with a bravura encore repeat during the credits!) If the film removed all duplicate scenes it might be half an hour shorter. This is just me snarking on the stylistic excess of the film. It's quite a fun romp ultimately.