This film is based on the first book by the author, with the same name, that introduces the four 60yrs+ olds who, living in a retirement village in the suburbs of London (Cooper’s Chase), solve crimes, invariably involving several murders. The first film and the book is about an un-solved case from 50 years ago, that intertwines with the present reality of another case. After several twists and turns, and introduction of several core characters that become the core protagonists in subsequent books, they solve the present case, and inevitably also end up solving the older case. And, in the process, making new friends, turning bad people into good, having heart-breaks from revelations of the past and an ageing reality of the present, but above it all, making friends as strong as family that will last them for the rest of their lives.
Now, I’ve read all the books in the series, and have enjoyed these books thoroughly. See my short reviews of this first three books https://books-booze-boxoffice.blogspot.com/search?q=Richard+Osman
And so I was waiting with anticipation when Netflix announced the movie.
I’m also very aware that making a movie out of a popular book always comes with high expectations and it’s always tricky to get the visualisation to live up to the expectations that the book sets, because the director’s vision of the book may not be the same as that of one individual reader.
But, despite knowing this, the film disappoints. And, unlike the book series that has stayed with us for the last 5 years, the film doesn’t stay with us even for a few minutes after we’ve stopped watching it.
This is because the beauty of the book is actually not in the story or the murder plot, though that is the reason why you pick it up and turn the pages till the end. The impact of the book lies in the characters it has built for us over the last 5 years. People, who we’ve come to know and love as our own uncles and aunts living in our own neighbourhood. Elizabeth, the ex-MI6 spy, the leader of the pack, who may be losing her youth and her ailing husband, but has lost none of her spark, her network or her kick-ass abilities. Ron, the ex-trade unionist, who loves his drinks, his food as much as he loves a good fight. Ibrahim, the ex-pyschiatrist, who’s mild mannered nature is not to be taken as a lack of a sharp brain and infinite resourcefulness in solving problems. And finally, Joyce, the newest member of the club, who is as passionate about baking cakes, as she is about attractive old men, but above all about being a true committed friend to all of them. Supported by an ensemble of other characters that complete the cast, like Inspector Donna and Chris, Polish not-above-board-immigrant-with-a-heart-of-gold Bogdan, and Jason, Ron’s ex-boxer son, popular with the ladies.
What’s even more disappointing is that the film fails on this count, despite having a dream star-cast of some of the best older actors in the industry. Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan as Ron, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim, Celia Imrie as Joyce, Jonathan Pryce as Elizabeth’s ailing husband. All of them feel like they are doing a lip service performance for an act that neither of them believe in. It’s like watching these otherwise fabulous actors going through the motion of scenes, dialogues, and emotions like we go about a chore that we don’t really enjoy. Just want to get it over with.
This also leads me into reflecting if the problem is Netflix. While it’s an excellent platform that has revolutionised in-home content viewing; as a production house, it’s probably not as rich and diverse a story-teller, as perhaps HBO or increasingly Apple TV is. Pop fiction and action-packed entertainment, like Stranger Things and Squid Games, Netflix gets. But switch to meaningful and thoughtful or nuanced story-telling, and Netflix bombs (like My Oxford Year or The Perfect Couple).
The other thing the film completely gets wrong, that is so much a the soul of the book, is its quintessential British-ness. Chris Columbus, with a very American sensibility, misses this in the film, and ends up reducing it to just the context and the setting, killing the entire vibe of this franchise.
In many ways, the film just reminds us of the reasons we love the book franchise by Richard Osman, exactly because these are so glaringly missing in the Netflix production. The nuances in the dialogues, and the emotions underlying an apparent crime novel, the Brit sense of humour and the flowy pace of the story-telling, the bitter-sweet reality of an otherwise contented and happy life, but with the everyday reminder of an imminent mortality. And the most important truth of any real or fiction story ever told. That in the end it’s all about the people and the characters. Remove this, and it’s just another Netflix show that you watch, forget and move on. Alas!
Here’s hoping that the second film (if they make it), learns from the mistakes of the first one.
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