With Mirren around, you can get away with ‘Murder’
Netflix’s “The Thursday Murder Club” is such an obvious clone of a certain Emmy-winning TV series that it should have been titled “Only Murders in the Geriatric Building.” Or, might I be mistaken, and this is the film within the series that was being shot during Season 4 of “Only Murders”? But weren’t Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria playing Charles, Oliver and Mabel? Perhaps I missed an episode and was unaware that the faux movie had been recast with a trio of elder Brits in Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Helen Mirren? I’m thoroughly confused. But then, I’m always confused.
Obviously, I kid. But there’s no avoiding the striking similarities between the Yank series and this UK dramedy that, in one key way, is superior to “Only Murders.” And that one illustrious difference is Mirren, outstanding as Elizabeth, the de facto chair of the titular circle that also includes Brosnan’s Ron and Kingsley’s Ibrahim.
All three are residents at the picturesque Coopers Chase Retirement Village, a repurposed British castle that comes replete with llamas roaming the spacious, bucolic grounds. Offering the normal gray-hair activities – art classes, gardening, symposiums on securing your valuables – the facility’s claim to fame is its Thursday afternoon gathering of the highly exclusive Murder Club.
It used to be a foursome, but after a debilitating stroke cost them Penny (Susan Kirkby), a retired police detective, the remaining three have soldiered on in pursuit of solving cold cases, such as their current probe of a mysterious death from 1973. But they immediately shift gears when one of the co-owners of Coopers Chase turns up dead. What ensues is a three-headed Miss Marble. Well, make that four-headed with the sudden addition of Joyce (Celia Imrie), a retired nurse unfazed by gruesome crime-scene photos and the baker of the biggest and best layer cakes known to man. And, boy, do they look delicious! No doubt, ideal for coercing classified information from sweet-toothed detectives.
If you’ve seen “Only Murders,” you’ll know the drill: a host of red herrings abetted by a long line of quirky characters, each seemingly harboring a vital clue to solving the puzzle. And like “Only Murders,” our heroes benefit greatly from having an inside with the cops. Here, that would be Donna de Freitas (Naomi Ackie), a marginalized bobby as smitten with the Murder Club members as we. She helps them, and they improbably help her get promoted to detective seemingly overnight. It all results in citizen policing at its finest, albeit somewhat unethical.
So, why does it feel so banal? Look no further than writers Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote. In adapting Richard Osman’s best-selling novel, the duo squanders many an opportunity by opting to exploit senior citizen tropes in lieu of meaningful characterizations. It’s so egregious, you’re tempted to pull the plug on these geezers. And without Mirren around, you likely would.
She’s the only reason to tolerate a deadly dull procedural punctuated with feeble stabs at humor. The former “Prime Suspect” sleuth recently turned 80, but she’s as dynamic as ever, whether tearing around in a sleek sports car, tending to her memory-challenged husband, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), or shrewdly parodying her Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. She also convincingly goes toe-to-toe with a host of tough hombres – and prevails!
Chief among them is David Tennant’s sleazy Ian Ventham, one of the Coopers Chase owners, and a prime suspect in the murder of his business partner, Tony Curran (Geoff Bell). The motive, they believe, was predicated on Ventham’s plan to convert the property, including the adjoining cemetery, into luxury condos. Tennant is as fabulous at creating menace as Imrie is at imbuing charm in the feisty but adorable Joyce.
I wish I could say the same about Kingsley, who’s regrettably given little to do, and Brosnan, who wouldn’t know subtlety if it bit him in the nose. Whenever the men move to the fore, the film slows to a crawl. But when Mirren and Imrie hold court, it soars.
If you happen to detect a whimsical “Harry Potter” vibe in the air, that’s likely because Christopher Columbus directed both this film and the first two “Potter” entries. So, it’s no surprise that Columbus opts not to go as dark as the material demands.
His work here isn’t bad, just blah and a bit childish, in the vein of a Nancy Drew mystery. But Columbus knows a jewel when he sees one and wisely makes the most of Mirren’s near-constant presence. She doesn’t carry the movie. She is the movie! And without her, it most assuredly would be murder.
Movie review
The Thursday Murder Club
Rated: PG-13 for language
Cast: Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Richard E. Grant and Celia Imrie
Director: Chris Columbus
Writer: Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcoat
Runtime: 2 hours
Where: In theaters (limited) and streaming on Netflix Aug. 28
Grade: B-
