Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
I was fortunate enough to catch a press screening of Guy Ritchie's richly triumphant, energetic, and fiercely intelligent SHERLOCK HOLMES the day before Butt Numb-a-Thon 11, and everyone I've told about how good the thing is has had a reaction that is a combination of surprise and relief (with a twinge of doubt that will be erased as soon as they see the thing themselves). People clearly want this film to work, but Guy Ritchie has been on a bit of a downward streak since SNATCH, and it's satisfying to see him use his talents as a visual acrobat in combination with a script that almost couldn't fail in the hands of many competent directors. I'm not putting Ritchie down by any stretch; to the contrary, his loose and kinetic style with the camera brings this story to life in ways the trailers don't even hint at.
SHERLOCK HOLMES is Guy Ritchie's superhero movie, with Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. absolutely devours Arthur Conan Doyle's creation) as a version of Batman that uses his brains as his primary weapon (followed closely with some fairly formidable fists). It also seems to help that both Holmes and Batman are mentally unstable creatures. And not that the plot of the film isn't impressive on a mass-destruction scope, but it's almost secondary compared to watching Holmes and his heterosexual life partner Dr. John Watson (Jude Law, in what might be his best work to date) outfit and outfight their enemies and those who appear to be friends but are actually just more enemies. I also love how the plot fully embraces the time period and place. The idea of a device that can wirelessly trigger a bomb nearly confounds our heroes. The final battle takes place on an in-progress bridge construction of a structure that usually acts as nothing but background in other London-set films.
But more impressively, SHERLOCK HOLMES finds a way to let us into the mind of Holmes whether he's solving a crime, sizing up a person, or exploring an opponent's weaknesses while boxing with them. The boxing scenes are especially thrilling and eye opening as Holmes literally notices any little twinge in a competitor's stance or manners and aims his fists directly for these vulnerable zones. But we also get to witness Holmes get his deductions wrong at times, usually because he's recovering from a heavy night of binge drug taking. This man is as fucked up as he is brilliant.
I'm a big Rachel McAdams fan, and her take as Holmes' potential love interest/betrayer is pretty solid stuff. But she's now match for the love machinations between Holmes and Watson. You see, SHERLOCK HOLMES is also a love story about two men who can't quit each other even when they try. Watson has just gotten engaged, and it's crystal clear that Holmes disapproves--not of the woman but of anything that would take Watson away from him. There is nothing better in this movie than the sometimes childish, sometimes battle of wits banter that goes on between the two men. They might as well be wielding rapiers and wearing fencing masks, they're so skilled and gentlemanly.
Perhaps making out better than McAdams is Mark Strong as the truly nasty Lord Blackwood, a practitioner of the dark arts who seemingly comes back from the dead to wreck havoc on the London government. It is Holmes' job to stop Blackwood (with little to no help from Eddie Marsan's Police Inspector Lestrade). Mark Strong is quite simply one of the most interesting British actors working today (just wait until you see him in Kick-Ass). In SHERLOCK HOLMES, he's practically filling in for the devil, and what a convincing job he does. Strong is quite simply on of the greatest heavies working today, and he somehow manages to creative new ways to be and play bad with each new role. I can't get enough of this terrific actor.
If it weren't for Downey's other 2009 role in THE SOLOIST, I might be forced to ask: Can this man do any wrong at this point? He infuses Holmes with such a complete sense of character and warped personality that I'm equal parts satisfied, fascinated, and eager to see Downey lock down his second franchise gig immediately. His ability to solve and decipher is matched only by his skills as knocking down adversaries with both words, wit and fists. The humor comes fast and furious, and Holmes sometimes allows a jest collide with an insult, occasionally hurting those around him without meaning too.
There's a complexity to Holmes that is the result of a sharp screenplay and killer performance. Law's work is more subtle but no less impressive as he attempts to make Watson the voice of reason in the relationship even though he clearly has more fun running with Holmes at his most insane and impulsive. There's really no getting around the fact that this film doesn't just work as a tale of mystery, action, and suspense; SHERLOCK HOLMES is above all other things fun and thrilling. It's not the kind of movie that garners awards or nominations, and that's because it doesn't really care about such things. The mission is entertainment, and on that front, it succeeds to an obscene degree.
-- Capone
therealcapone@aintitcoolmail.com
Follow Me On Twitter
