Four irrepressible retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands.
Chuck says:
A pleasant enough diversion, Chris Columbus’ “The Thursday Murder Club” features a cast of veteran British actors giving their all to a script that’s clearly beneath them. Still and all, this adaptation of the first novel in the series by Richard Osman is an entertaining lark that gets by on the charm of its performers. While the mystery at its center is far too complicated for its own good, at the very least Columbus keeps things moving, alternating between scenes of the amateur sleuths trying to crack the case and those in which they deal with personal issues.
Coopers Chase is a grand old estate that’s been turned into a posh home for pensioners. Its occupants are numerous, and the community is tightknit. Among them are Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), a former MI-6 operative, Ron (Pierce Brosnan) an ex-trade unionist, and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), who once practiced psychology. These three have taken to gathering every Thursday to analyze and attempt to solve cold cases. They’ve recently taken Joyce (Celia Imrie) into their group as they believe the medical experience she obtained from once being a nurse will prove valuable.
Wouldn’t you know it, they no longer have to look to the past to practice their detective skills as a murder occurs in which they have a personal connection. One of the owners of Coopers Chase, Tony Curran (Geoff Bell) is brutally beaten to death in his home. The prime suspect is Ian Ventham (David Tennant), co-owner of the establishment, who is eager to sell the place. The two were seen arguing over this matter, so the natural conclusion is…
But if it were that cut-and-dried it would make for a very short movie. Par for the course, nothing and no one is as they seem, and many deep dark secrets are revealed before all the answers come to light. However, before that can happen, another murder occur, and we’re introduced to a myriad of supporting characters who each have their reasons for engaging in homicide.
Ron’s son Jason (Tom Ellis), an ex-MMA champion, Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), who works for Ventham, and Tanner (Richard E. Grant), the silent partner in the Coopers Chase venture, all emerge as primes suspects for one reason or another. Of course, the detective assigned to the case, Hudson (Daniel Mays) can’t make heads nor tails of what’s going on. That his colleague, Donna (Naomi Ackie) is helping Elizabeth and her co-horts on the sly, isn’t helping his efforts.
The investigation into the two primary murders proceeds logically but then Osman feels compelled to muddy the waters with the discovery of a 50-year-old corpse, that winds up being improbably connected to a supporting character and the cold case the quartet was initially working on. This attempt to deepen the mystery reeks of desperation and proves to be an unnecessary distraction, sapping energy from the main storyline.
Still and all, the characters and performances are what keeps us engaged, though the movie overstays its welcome. The four leads are having a grand time, the interaction between this quartet of disparate characters producing mild fun along the way. I would be remiss if I did not mention Jonathan Pryce, who shines as Elizabeth’s husband Stephen, a kind gentleman struggling with the onset of dementia.
What with four more novels in Osman’s series, it seems like a no-brainer for Netflix to expand on this franchise. Afterall, it’s been some time since “Murder, She Wrote” went off the air and as such, the void for a fictional senior sleuth exists. “The Thursday Murder Club” contains four, which should be more than enough to meet that need.
2 1/2 Stars
