Reviews

This is a very interesting adaptation of the classic story. In one way, it succeeds brilliantly in making an oppressive and scary atmosphere. It is shot beautifully and at points, makes your skin crawl. It's realism is another excellent idea - most Holmes cases are bloodless and child-friendly. This is neither. There is blood, autopsies, sexual violence, shooting etc.... Most of this is in the novel. Some elements are changed and some are dropped entirely. It could be accused of trying to be sensationalist and I'd understand why many people dislike it. I watched it for what it was: an excellent literary based semi-supernatural crime thriller. The visuals and acting are excellent, the plot engages ( even if it does differ considerably from the book in some respects ). Watch it to enjoy it, not as a faithful representation of the novel.

Particularly, Richard E. Grant is amazing

Written by the writer who penned the excellent Murder Rooms series which chronicled ACD's adventures with Doctor Joseph Bell, I was looking forward to this and I wasn't disappointed. It was quite slow moving, with a lot of emphasis on Doyle's frustration at Sherlock Holmes which was very accurate and excellently portrayed. It was an interesting character study and very well shot ( on digital video, unusual for a period piece ). The acting was excellent all round, particularly Tim McInnery and Brian Cox although the actor who portrayed ACD, whose name I cannot remember impressed me no end. An excellent character study which has about the same amount of twists as any normal Sherlock Holmes case. Do see this if you get the chance

The ensemble cast make this worth watching. This is a dream cast of Oscar winners and Oscar-calibre actors. Don't make the mistake of avoiding this because of its reputation. It isn't meant to be very cerebral, just to be energetic and swashbuckly. It is. The end ( although quite obvious ) is a tremendous climax. Come on people, do you not feel just energised watching that? Watch it for the end alone. It makes you feel so good. The music may not suit the film much ( being synthed in a period film ) but it makes it feel so exciting. It is a great achievement.

It's not all brilliant obviously. In fact, most of it is quite tired and lackluster but the end really isn't. Watch it for the actors and the ending. Clichéd it may be, but clichés wouldn't happen if they weren't good things.

I am a great fan of Trevor Eve and of the crime drama. He is amazing on Waking the Dead and that is one of the best shows on television. Eve is an actor who's potential hasn't really been discovered by the film industry as much as it could have been, though this might be down to him in some capacity ( maybe he likes the theatre, I don't know ). This is an excellent showcase for his acting talents, and it ranges from subtle to violently explosive quite frequently and only an actor with his calibre could pull it off. The actual feature isn't really that thrilling. It feels like a British TV version of The Fugitive ( one or two scenes are blatant copies ) but it is elevated above a lot by the characterisation and depth of feeling. The production value is very good but some may find it going out of its way to shock ( the opening scene with the child ) and the final 'twist' feels so contrived they only added it in to give it a twist. It started off very well but as soon as more murders began, it lost its dramatic edge. All in all, it is carried by Trevor Eve. Watch it if you have the chance, it's a very good story of moral complexity but it tries to hard and ends up falling short of the mark. That said, it's worth watching, mainly for a brilliant performance by Eve

I don't care what that random person said before. This movie is brilliant. All you have to do is see the credits with the hat rolling and you can tell how great this film would be. The characters are amazingly strong and very human. It isn't very violent and when there is violence, it is realistic and brutal. This is a great film and everyone should see it. Definitely.

Everyone I've spoken to loves this film, it is great The music is fantastic and so is everything else. The greatest scene is movie history ( one of the greatest ) is Albert Finney strolling down his street, in his dressing gown, shooting with a Tommy Gun to the tune of Danny Boy. It is fantastic