\n\tIn the tradition of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and a flood of other geezer films, The Thursday Murder Club knows exactly what it is: a way to bring together a group of stars who are, let\u2019s say, no longer young, and have them reel in an audience. A mystery about retirees who solve cold cases for fun, it is as gentle as a game of Clue and as cozy as an Agatha Christie novel, but its glittering cast and a touch of self-awareness make up for that lack of originality. This modestly entertaining film is uncool and filled with stock tropes, but it doesn\u2019t pretend to be anything more.<\/p>\n
\n\tHelen Mirren<\/a> is in her stern and elegant mode as Elizabeth, the mastermind of the sleuthing, who now and then drops hints that she has a past as an intelligence agent. Celia Imrie<\/a> (Better Things) is Joyce, Elizabeth\u2019s opposite, a nurse and enthusiastic new member of the group, who always brings home-baked cakes to their meetings. Ben Kingsley<\/a> has the one lackluster role as Ben, a buttoned-down psychiatrist. But Pierce Brosnan<\/a> is the scene-stealer here, joyously leaping into the character of Ron, a former union activist known as Red Ron in his day, still ready to start a protest when needed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe Thursday Murder Club\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tThe Bottom Line<\/p>\n \tGeneric but irresistibly cast.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tRelease date: Thursday, August 28 (Netflix) \n\tThe seniors\u2019 residence, called Coopers Chase, is itself a kind of fantasy, converted from a pile of an English country house that is not quite Downton Abbey but close enough. Inside, they have big, comfortable apartments and outside there are rolling green lawns and for some reason llamas. Production designer James Merifield gives the settings some country-estate grandeur and it is all richly photographed by Don Burgess. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe club\u2019s cold case is dropped when a hot one comes along, adding some vivid smaller performances to the mix. The co-owner of Coopers Chase is murdered, leaving his partner free to turn the place into apartments and kick the tenants out on the lawn. David Tennant gives a witty, over-the-top, snarling performance as the villainous partner. Naomi Ackie (the best friend in Sorry, Baby<\/a>) is a strong presence even in the functional role of Donna, the young police officer more astute than her bumbling boss (Daniel Mays). And Richard E. Grant<\/a> turns up late in film as a character who adds a macabre touch. Director Chris Columbus<\/a> \u2014 of the first two Harry Potters, Mrs. Doubtfire and many others \u2014 brings his smooth deftness to the whole glossy package. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAt times the film nods at its own familiarity. When Joyce and Elizabeth take a bus to the police station to get Donna\u2019s help, Joyce excitedly says, \u201cI feel like we\u2019re in one of those Sunday night dramas about two bright-eyed, feisty old lady detectives outsmarting the police at every turn. Do you feel like that?\u201d In response, Elizabeth says, \u201cNo. And never use the words bright-eyed, feisty old ladies in my presence again.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tMirren delivers that dialogue so acidly she cuts through the feistiness. But of course knowing you\u2019re dealing with clich\u00e9s doesn\u2019t make those clich\u00e9s vanish, and the film only glancingly indulges in any meta cleverness. Instead it leans into the plot twists with more murder and multiple red herrings. This is, after all, not a spoof or a satire, although there is one delightful nod to Mirren\u2019s role as Elizabeth II in The Queen, a reference so blatant it hardly counts as an Easter egg.<\/p>\n \n\tThe film doesn\u2019t entirely ignore the fact of mortality creeping closer. Elizabeth\u2019s husband (Jonathan Pryce<\/a>) has the beginnings of dementia, and her best friend is in a coma in the facility\u2019s hospice wing. But the film emphasizes the cast\u2019s very evident liveliness. At the end, when Elizabeth and Steven dance while Cat Stevens\u2019 \u201cOh Very Young\u201d plays in the background \u2014 the song is really too on the nose \u2014 it\u2019s a creaky stab at poignancy, but fortunately a rare note of cringe.<\/p>\n
Cast: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Tom Ellis, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Geoff Bell, Richard E. Grant, Ingrid Oliver
Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: Katy Brand, Suzanne Heathcote
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRated PG-13,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 hour 58 minutes\n\t\t<\/p>\n