Out this week on Netflix is the cinematic adaptation of Richard Osman’s murder mystery novel, The Thursday Murder Club. Starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as the quizzical quartet and directed by Chris Columbus, The Thursday Murder Club is about a group of friends who fight crime from their retirement home.
Written by Richard Osman, this is a much-loved series of murder mysteries that centres around the inhabitants of Cooper’s Chase. At the start of the film, Elizabeth (Mirren) invites Joyce (Imrie) to join the group so that she, Ibrahim (Kingsley) and Ron (Brosnan) can utilise Joyce’s nursing skills to help solve a cold case of theirs. As the film progresses, a murder occurs in the local village. This causes quite a stir, as the victim was the co-owner of Cooper’s Chase, and there are several suspicious figures in the wings.
The game is a cake
The team behind The Thursday Murder Club has assembled an incredible cast: a Dame, a Sir, and a Bond. Even the King of Hell and a Timelord are involved. Unfortunately, even with David Tennant and Tom Ellis rounding out the cast to complement the leads, there is not enough going on in this. Tennant is not in the film nearly enough for you to truly enjoy him as the villainous Ian, and Tom feels completely underutilised. With two hours, there is just not enough time to fully flesh out these characters, their motivations, and this murder, which is a shame, because a limited series would have fixed these issues.
The Thursday Murder Club raises so many questions that go unanswered. Does the club have any actual murders under its belt? After all, the gang have an incredible ego. What exactly is Elizabeth’s origin that allows her to act like she’s the smartest person in the room? If the film were a limited series, possibly six episodes, this could have all been explored and given the film and its characters more depth. Which it desperately needed.
Now the film isn’t awful, it’s just frustratingly mediocre. With all this talent leading the way, with notable character actors dotted throughout, this should have been monumentally successful. Tennant is having a lot of fun, and Brosnan is great as Ron, with an excellent rapport with Kingsley’s Ibrahim. A particular highlight for me was Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who plays Bogdan. His subplot was thoroughly engaging. Instead, it feels like a rejected episode of Murder, She Wrote. For many, that will be okay, but for me, it wasn’t enough.
I think I would like to see more of this world and these characters, but possibly under the direction of someone more capable. For all of Columbus’s great works, this sadly is not one of them.
Stay tuned to Scannain for more news, reviews and interviews.