Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley lead Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club, a cosy crime drama set in a picturesque retirement village (Netflix)
The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman's debut novel in 2020, revolutionized the cozy cum thrilling murder mystery with mirrors resonating between the twining of classic whodunit laid intrigue and laughter. Such was the level of success that it generated franchise sequels to what shall certainly prompt more generations of future imitators.
Now, there's a big screen thumping adaptation of the phenomenon directed by Chris Columbus and starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie, among others. Expectations were sky-high, but what happened on the screen was slightly charmingly safe instead of thoroughly gripping.
The greatest part of the movie portrays Coopers Chase as nothing like a retirement home, but rather like some countryside villa. Four retirees form a Thursday Murder Club there, namely Elizabeth, a retired spy (Mirren) Ron, a firebrand union leader (Brosnan) Ibrahim, a psychiatrist with sharp insight (Kingsley) and Joyce, a nurse with a sweet tooth (Imrie).
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As harmless stabbing at cold cases turns serious, Christophers establishes co manifest with the ambiguous master of Coopers Chase (David Tennant) as eruptions that become violent with his partners. With police investigators Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays) and Donna de Freitas (Naomi Ackie) deployed to the case, the elderly sleuths prove they are far more than anyone expects skillful and daring.
If the film works at all, then this ensemble is responsible for that. Mirren supplies grace and authority, Brosnan, flamboyant charm dry humor from Kingsley blends with Imrie bringing warmth into the group dynamic. Together they create an almost irresistible chemistry and very often lift material from beneath its limitations. Jonathan Pryce gives a very tender portrayal of Elizabeth's husband by conveying dementia with a considerable emotional weight.
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Visually lush but not in that hothouse never mind style of a Hollywood epic, one might aptly have called it sombre and devoted to smooth production values. Coopers Chase shines in postcard-perfect backdrops (shot at Berkshire's Englefield Estate). After all dark, gritty thrillers, this film gives light-hearted tone and nostalgic aesthetics as relief it's a truly dreamy show.
Despite being beautifully adapted, it really doesn't catch the cleverness of any of Osman's writing. Mystery is juvenile, clues obvious and many words in the script are too bogged down with exposition. Jokes are not funny but feel slapped down, and by the end act, the story goes into silly territory and suspense is suspended. The really serious themes that could have been struck up touched around aging, mortality or assisted dying-are grossly incidental and characteristically uninformed.
The Thursday Murder Club gets by on a great cast and a gorgeous setting, but that's all it is. Nowhere near what the book offered in terms of sharpness, wit or intrigue. It is the most promising form of cozy comfort viewing, alluring while on show, but likely to last little after the credits roll.
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