Ian McKellen's played the villain Magneto in the X-Men movies, and the heroic Gandalf in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, both just within the last few months. When Hollywood needs someone to lend some wizened gravitas to an iconic character they call McKellen, and now he'll do the same as Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon's film, Mr. Holmes.
The first trailer for Mr. Holmes has arrived and let's just say there won't be any confusing it with Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies. McKellen plays the legendary sleuth, now retired and in his golden years, as he tries to solve one final mystery with the help of a young boy. Here's the synopsis:
England in 1947. The famous detective Sherlock Holmes, now 93 years old, lives in his Sussex country house. When he goes to the cinema and sees a film about himself, he mostly shakes his head. For much of what he is purported to have done in the heroic stories has simply been made up. He never wore the legendary hat and, rather than the pipe, he always preferred a cigarette. Long since retired, he steers clear of people and dedicates himself chiefly to bee-keeping. The only people he suffers to be around him are housekeeper Mrs. Munro and her small son Roger, whom Holmes is initiating into the secrets of apiculture. But sometimes his thoughts are beset by old cases. What really went on with the mysterious Ann Kelmot, whom he shadowed at her husband's behest? And what connects him to the Umezaki family, who have invited him to Japan? Holmes undertakes one final big journey, experiences a botanical miracle and resolves to tell a compassionate lie... Freely adapted from Mitch Cullin's novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind," Bill Condon's film reflects upon the interplay between truth and legend, age and memory, unresolved guilt and the chance to finally make peace with oneself.
Want to watch Sherlock Holmes as a old, withered beekeeper? This movie's for you. Actually, McKellen is probably the only one who could make that interesting. Still, I'd rather watch Young Sherlock Holmes any day. The film co-stars Laura Linney, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Milo Parker, but currently has no U.S. release date.
Mr. Holmes Official Trailer #1 (2015) by New Movies - Trailer