OrderToWatch Mr. Holmes poster

Mr. Holmes

Movie, 2015, The 1940s, Set in Sussex, 1947, age 93

Mr. Holmes is #17 of 26 in release order and #23 of 26 in chronological order in the Sherlock Holmes.

The story

In 1947, long-retired and near the end of his life, Sherlock Holmes grapples with an unreliable memory and must rely on his housekeeper's son as he revisits the still-unsolved case that led to his retirement.

Mr. Holmes recap

Mr. Holmes (2015) is Bill Condon's film of Mitch Cullin's novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, with Ian McKellen as a 93-year-old Holmes, Laura Linney as his housekeeper Mrs. Munro and Milo Parker as her son Roger. In 1947, the long-retired Holmes keeps bees in Sussex and is losing his memory. Unhappy with Watson's version of his last case, he tries to write the real one. With Roger's help he remembers it: about thirty years earlier he followed a grieving wife, Ann Kelmot, saw that she meant to take her own life, and sent her back to her husband instead of sharing her loneliness. She died anyway, and he retired.

Mr. Holmes ending explained

Roger is badly stung, and Holmes realises wasps, not his bees, were to blame; Roger had been protecting the hives. At the hospital Holmes admits he was too afraid to open himself to Ann, and tells Mrs. Munro that she and Roger will inherit his estate. He writes his first piece of fiction, a kind letter to a Japanese man about the father who left him, and lays a ring of stones to remember the people he has lost.

Where to watch Mr. Holmes

Mr. Holmes is streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+, and Kanopy in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.

Ratings

IMDb 6.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes 88%

Where it fits

What to watch before Mr. Holmes

Nothing. Mr. Holmes (2015) doesn't continue an earlier version, so it stands on its own.

Cast

Directed by Bill Condon.