- Director: Chris Columbus
- Screenplay: Katy Brand, Suzanne Heathcote
- Cast: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie
- Cinematography: Don Burgess
- Editing: Dan Zimmerman
- Score: Thomas Newman
- Genre: Crime comedy
- Runtime: 118 minutes
We may as well make American director Chris Columbus an honorary Brit. He was responsible for launching the ‘Harry Potter‘ cinematic franchise, helming its first two films to critical acclaim. Now, he returns to Blighty to adapt television presenter-cum-author Richard Osman’s debut novel, ‘The Thursday Murder Club‘.
A quartet of pensioners set out to solve a murder, all the while trying to save their retirement home from being sold and redeveloped into flats. You might be mistaken for thinking these elderly amateur sleuths are over the hill. How wrong you’d be. They’re sharp as a tack and rely on the skills their respective former careers have honed. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, these four have all the tricks up their sleeves.
A plenitude of great British actors grace our screen: Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie and Pierce Brosnan comprise the members of the titular club, whilst Naomi Ackie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce and Richard E. Grant round off the cast.
It’s an absolute delight from start to finish. The murder case isn’t dumbed down akin to a cozy ITV afternoon drama nor is it needlessly complex like a Harlan Coben story. It’s riveting, often hilarious and any loose ends are wrapped up nice and neat.
I can’t wait for their next mystery. This film was a Netflix Original and you know the speed in which they yield content. The actors are game so why not get cracking on the sequel as Osman has written further installments since.
My rating: 8 / 10
SilverScreen 