Archive for the 'Article By Steph Dyhin' Category

Sherlock Holmes is Guy Ritchie’s welcome return to form. I loved Snatch (2000), a snappier, funnier, post-modern improvement on his 1998 Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which he also wrote and directed. As the gangster flicks rolled out (Revolver was ok, RocknRolla pretty terrible) it was presumed Ritchie was a one trick pony.

Although finally free of Madonna’s apron strings, Ritchie has not strayed far from these familiar themes. He has however wisely left the screen play to newcomer Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham (Don’t Say a Word 2001 and Invictus 2009, the Clint Eastwood directed Nelson Mandela story released this year); who have penned a beautifully original adaptation of Conan Doyle’s well-known characters.

In a cinematic landscape where originality is thin on the ground (especially in crowd-pleasing blockbusters) it is so refreshing to have our hero written as quirky, unassuming and lacking Hollywood hyper-sexuality. Johnson and Peckham have resisted tarring Holmes with the cliché brush and have instead unpacked the literature to make him three dimensional and irresistible.

The irresistibility is no doubt aided by my favourite nearly-crashed-and-burned-in-the-90s born again sex symbol, Robert Downey Jr. The man who began his infamy in April 1996, arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357-caliber Magnum handgun, while speeding down Sunset Boulevard (how cool?!), RDJ struggled until 2001 to kick his habits. From there he’s emerged the brooding hero, sneaking back to fame via indie hits A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Zodiac (2007) to last years smouldering Iron Man.

RDJ’s performance is perfectly offbeat. I wish he’d given us a little more but it is, after all, a detective story not the romance it is in my head. Perhaps in the sequel. A lovely complement both aesthetically and in pace is Jude Law, whose absence of sugary pretty-boy cheese makes him likeable for a change. He is instead mildly conflicted, reasonably intelligent and pleasantly tolerable. The pair bounce scrumptious dialogue off each other and Ritchie makes the most of it, revisiting the fantastic rollicking pace that made Snatch the most-watched DVD in my collection. Actually the pace doesn’t really let up – there is barely any sorbet between the courses – but I hardly noticed I was so immersed in the richly drawn world.

Ritchie remains the only director who makes me enjoy watching violence. Gracefully choreographed as in Snatch (the scene where Brad Pitt loses the boxing match is one of my favourites) he this time explores the forethought in slow motion before smacking you with a deliciously satisfying denouement. This is entertainment!

While the world wows at Avatar I was thrilled at the lack of CGI in Sherlock Holmes. The film does contain a fair amount of digital magic but it’s portrayed with restraint, in a tone that matches the film’s setting. The characters believe what is happening and so do we. In fact, Ritchie is a paragon of restraint in his clever use of narrative devices as well – voice over and flash backs both just enough to keep us interested but not so much as to become tiresome or overstated.

Also worth a mention is the music, composed by the ridiculously prolific Hans Zimmer. The instrumentation in particular adds another dimension of enjoyment to the film. It subtly complements the narrative – accordions at the entrance of the French character; discordant clock chimes building suspense as Big Ben looms over the action. Superb.

I loved this film. It’s exactly what I want when I go to the movies to relax. Something that assumes I am intelligent and quick witted, yet still indulges my id. Thinking person’s light entertainment.