Mr. Holmes by Mr. House

                                       Mr. Holmes by Mr. House

Even as a small child I gravitated to watching mystery movies or who done its. My favorites, of course, were the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I always liked the fact that Sherlock Holmes was capable of putting facts together to make conclusions that would lead to the solving of the crime. He did this with what I don’t call a superior intellect but by using his intelligence to understand why things happened and what details are left behind at a crime scene to show what had transpired. Sherlock Holmes always seemed a bit of an oddball when it came to emotions and interacting with people and he seemed to be uncomfortable in those situations, as I know most of us feel uncomfortable around strangers. I always wanted to have the analytical mind of Sherlock Holmes, but my mind worked more like a mechanic or artist, I could see things through my hands and do things through my hands in almost the same manner that Sherlock Holmes did them through thought and logic by thinking them out and then acting on them.

I, on the other hand, could take something apart till I found the piece that was either worn out or broken and change them out and make that object work again.

To me, it was almost as if I was the Sherlock Holmes that solved the crime, when I fixed the brakes on my parents car I was solving the crime of inadequate braking power. I know that seemed a little far-fetched, but honestly I did compare it to solving situations that were quite normal. My love of Sherlock Holmes as young man started by watching the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in Sherlock Holmes movies and Ronald Howard in the television show from the 1950’s and all of the movies that portrayed Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's adventures. The latest adaptation of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for the BBC, known as Sherlock, has me completely enthralled and enjoying the adventures that are portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, two of the best actors to portray the crime-fighting duo, and all Sherlock Holmes.

I have come to believe though that the stories are not as much about the mysteries as it is about the companionship of two men how they become lifelong friends and their companionship. Some people say that this type of friendship isn't quite possible and I totally disagree. So many of the movies out there are not truly about the story the characters are in but it is the characters themselves that are the story. The detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson are definitely the story that people continually go back for. Yes, I am saying is not the Hound of the Baskerville and it's not the the Woman in Green, or even the Speckled Band that people go back to watch or read, it is the continuing story of two friends having the adventures of a lifetime that people go back to read and watch.

I absolutely am and always have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, whether it is the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or the movies of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, or the TV show from the 50’s or the more modern BBC's Sherlock. I cannot get enough of Sherlock Holmes. It doesn't seem to matter to me who inhabits 221B Baker Street as long as they are portraying Sherlock Holmes in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle style.

The wife and I went to see a new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, this time starring Ian McKellen as the retired and elderly Sherlock Holmes who instead of having Watson by his side to keep Sherlock on track, this time it is a young boy who has Sherlock put through his paces. I was somewhat skeptical of Ian McKellen playing Sherlock Holmes, because I have been somewhat of an estranged fan of his for years and, yes, I do mean that I am a fan of his but I have never been able to understand from one moment to the next what he Ian McKellen was up to. His acting style keeps me guessing at what his next move will be and I did not and understand whether that would be adaptable to Sherlock Holmes, however, I did not know exactly what the storyline would be for the movie called Mr. Holmes. After seeing it, I do indeed get exactly why Ian McKellen was absolutely the best choice for this particular Sherlock Holmes. I want to tell you that if you are a Sherlock Holmes geek like I am, the rest of this story needs to be a spoiler alert until you have watched the new movie called Mr. Holmes. Yes, this is a spoiler alert!

You see, in this particular adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, he is in his last years and he is losing his memory just as we all do in our final days. I never understood Sherlock Holmes retiring to a bee farm in Essex until watching this movie. It was casually mentioned in the stories and the movies but it never made sense to me. This new perspective that Mr. Holmes gives to me of Sherlock is quite interesting.

You see, there absolutely was, in earlier days, a belief that the Royal jelly that bees made for their queen had some type of medical curative powers and I believe that Sherlock had decided to retire to a bee farm so that he could use the Royal jelly to keep his cognitive powers and mental capacities in check. I'm not going to give away the entire story away, but I will tell you this story is not about anything other than the relationship between Sherlock and the mother and son that take care of him.

Unfortunately, this movie is in a limited release or at least it was in the Smoky Mountain area and only one theater in Knoxville was showing Mr. Holmes so you may even have to wait to see Mr. Holmes on Blu-ray and DVD, but whatever you do, if you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes of any kind, in my opinion this is a must-see. I know that it will not get any critical acclaim and it will not win Oscars but it is one of the best Sherlock Holmes movies I have ever seen. I believe it has given a fresh perspective on how things ended for our favorite British sleuth.