Eleanor Reviews

**** Haunted by events some thirty years earlier, an aged Sherlock Holmes looks back upon his life and ponders his final case. It is hard to imagine anyone other than Ian McKellen taking on the role of the aged sleuth and pulling it off with the finesse that he can. Each movement is idiosyncratic, each raise of the eyebrow nuanced, and the moments of silence in which he stares into space are as mesmerising as any speech. Indeed, one of the most powerful moments of the film is when Holmes, stumped during an argument, merely stares directly forward, his mind working away behind his intense eyes. Aged to look 93 by excellent prosthetics and make-up, McKellen spends the majority of the film struggling with his memory as he lives out his retirement in the countryside, minding his bees. It is a quiet, subtle performance, aided by Milo Parker as his protégé, Roger, the intelligent yet stifled son of his housekeeper (Laura Linney). The relationship between these characters is at t