The Thursday Murder Club is a wholesome Sunday afternoon watch that will most certainly entertain the masses- but as a fan of the book, it’s not quite what I expected.
Richard Osman’s novel The Thursday Murder Club was a smash hit in 2020, receiving huge critical acclaim and becoming an international best-selling novel.
Directed by Harry Potter legend, Christopher Columbus, the film is set to be released by Netflix next week and stars Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
The atmospheric film dives straight into life at Coopers Chase, a retirement village filled with beautiful homes and eccentric pensioners in Kent, which is disrupted when a murder takes place in the local area.
Rather than distress, the event sparks excitement from The Thursday Murder Club, a gang of four elderly residents who grasp the opportunity to take their hobby to the next level and solve a real-life crime.
Get personalised updates on all things Netflix
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
The movie is charming and quaint, but doesn’t quite elicit the same response as the simply marvellous book.
Dropping straight into life at Coopers Chase, the film perfects the feel of the English home counties with beautiful filming locations, including Englefield House, Berkshire, used for the exterior shots of the retirement home. The magnificent building becomes a character in itself, much like Hogwarts or Downton Abbey, and immediately begins the story with a reassuring level of Britishness expected from Osman’s novel.
The wholesome, cosy atmosphere created by the set design is partnered with solid acting performances from the stellar cast, all managing to nail the layers of comedy that teeter on the slapstick in part.
Brosnan’s casting as Ron Ritchie wouldn’t have been my initial choice, but the actor nails the comedic character along with all the punchlines, even though his cockney accent leaves something to be desired.
The other A-list cast are (obviously) fantastic, with special mentions demanding to be made about the supporting cast.
Jonathan Pryce’s performance as Elizabeth’s husband Stephen, struggling with the early stages of dementia, was the perfect earnest counterbalance to this fun-focused film. His scenes are sweet and devastating, and having an actor of his calibre sign on to perform so few scenes – but ones that pack such a wallop – was expert casting. Coupled with Henry Lloyd Hughes’ pitch-perfect portrayal of savvy handyman Bogdan, the supporting straight men help keep this film from falling into the farsical.
And of course, as ever, David Tennant is the perfect devil. His character Ian Ventham is even more villainous and hilarious than in the book, with Tennant – much like in Rivals – nailing a money-hungry, hateable villain.
The book is full of nuances about loneliness, ageing, and mortality, and while this film touches on these themes, it doesn’t quite dive into them headfirst; it rather glimpses the surface.
Osman perfectly balances the heartbreak and humour in his books, weaving in tragedy and laugh-out-loud hilarity with precision. This film is slightly more reserved in both respects – relying on sillier humour and less polished sadness that doesn’t quite devastate in the same way.
Similarly, when it comes to the mystery at hand, the clues are edited down and simplified, perhaps for the sake of swift storytelling. Additionally, a lot of the British references are snipped away. Yes, there’s a mention of M&S, but perhaps the aggressive Englishness of the book references actually didn’t translate over the pond or to a wider audience, so cuts had to be made.
The film is sillier than the book, and feels like more of a family-friendly story that’s appropriate for a wider and younger audience. Elements lean closer to Hot Fuzz than the Agatha Christie I was expecting, and while the tonal shift isn’t at all a bad thing, it wasn’t what I hoped for.
In reality, what most devoted readers might have wanted was a big-budget series which meant every facet of the story could be told loyally – but regretably, I’m not a show commissioner at Netflix, so them’s the breaks!
The Thursday Murder Club is a cosy family watch that has smoothed out some of the more complex storylines in order to make a simplified two-hour-long piece.
It’s an immersive delight that had me wishing for the days I, too, could be a pensioner and enjoy slices of rum-soaked coffee cake while hanging out with my buddies all day and solving crimes.
With a cosy feel of Paddington but with a 12A rating, the result is a sweet and heartwarming story that I can see families settling in to watch together around Christmastime.
The Thursday Murder Club is out in select cinemas on August 22, and arrives on Netflix on August 28.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.