Based on Richard Osman’s bestselling series, The Thursday Murder Club is a star-studded murder mystery drama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Ben Kingsley.
On paper, everything works well in the case of this adaptation, especially the casting. Helen Mirren stars as a cold-blooded Elizabeth, a retired MI6 officer and the mind behind The Thursday Murder Club, an organisation consisting of four older friends who are interested in solving some unresolved crimes from the past. The cohort also consists of the one and only Pierce Brosnan (starring as Ron, a stubborn and retired union leader) and Ben Kingsley, playing Ibrahim, a retired psychiatrist. Due to a murder in real life and some other unexpected circumstances, they will soon be joined by Joyce (Celia Imrie), who will change the dynamics of the group forever.
But, the whole thing feels overly sterile. While reading the literary original, I actually imagined the characters in this series to be similar, and the cheerful detective atmosphere has also been skilfully recreated. Still, there is a certain falseness creeping in, as if there is too much calculation and not enough heart. There is really nothing wrong with the entire film: seemingly, it works well from the start to the final credits. However, maybe this calculation and the lack of organic chemistry are something that makes us wonder if the film isn’t “too staged,” if such reasoning makes sense.
The only controversial element that popped up is the way producers treated a Polish immigrant named Bogdan. First of all, he’s played by a non-Polish actor (here, Henry Lloyd-Hughes); he could have been easily played by a Pole. It’s a shame that instead of treating Bogdan as a significant character, who should return in the following films (in Osman’s books, he becomes a more and more crucial figure, as Bogdan often supports leading characters in solving intricate cases), we got his rather strange re-interpretation.
Regardless, The Thursday Murder Club recommends itself to all fans of the books and any lovers of Miss Marple’s adventures.
Photo: Netflix
3/5 stars
Author: Jan Tracz
