Not that Holmes, first seen as a 93-year-old retiree spending his waning twilight years at a picturesque cottage by the sea in the southern part of post-World War II England, isn’t attempting to fight back against the infirmities of old age. Much like “ Woman in Gold,” where the glowing presence of Helen Mirren was compensation enough to sit through a rather spotty enterprise, the 76-year-old actor-donning rivulets of extra wrinkles and a padded aquiline nose-overcomes a script with an excess of flashbacks to convince us that we are truly witnessing the one and only Sherlock in his dotage. Here, she dowdies herself down nicely as Holmes’ often-disapproving housekeeper.Ĭondon does right by both actors again, although the film is at its best as a showcase for the splendid and spell-binding Sir Ian, who has taken on two other pop-cultural icons, Gandalf the wizard and X-Men nemesis Magneto, since they last collaborated.
Holmes’ also features one of his stars from 2004’s “ Kinsey,” Laura Linney, who earned an Oscar nod as the noted sex researcher’s wife. Holmes’ provides a perfect chance for a reunion with Ian McKellen, who was Oscar-nominated for his wily and witty work as the original “Frankenstein” director James Whale in 1998’s “Gods and Monsters,” which won the filmmaker an Academy Award for his adapted screenplay. “Mr.
