(picture taken of the statue in Baker Street by me)
the bizarre yet
endearing Soviet Sherlock Holmes,
(thanks to the Internet for this pic)
the 1980s Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes now oft-repeated on
ITV 3 (fans of Sherlock should note mousachio’d Watson – it is tradition!)
(thanks to the Internet for this pic)
the recent adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for the silver
screen with Jude Law and Robert Downey Junior and a delectable Hans Zimmer
soundtrack (more below)
last but not least, I love the BBC Sherlock. When this first came out I was a little bit annoyed,
because I had loved the film version which was released slightly before and
thought the BBC had sunk so low as to copy the concept. This was not helped by
the fact that David Arnold’s soundtrack (particularly at first) had similar
rhythms and sounds to Hans Zimmer’s. But I have warmed to it.
I even quite like The
Mentalist, which has streaks of Sherlock Holmes charm, though it isn’t as
good as the above.
I don’t see liking Sherlock
Holmes therefore as an either/or thing. I have heard a great deal of
indifferent and critical reactions to the Sherlock Holmes films. I enjoy them
because, accurate to the books or not, they evoke the nineteenth century charm
of the originals, and although Robert Downey Junior’s portrayal is not how I
imagined Sherlock Holmes from reading the books (the Brett version is far
closer) they are fun. Really fun. I like the rogueish charm of Robert Downey
Junior’s Sherlock, the twinkle in his eye, his insouciance, and his bromance
with Jude Law’s Watson. (I quite like Jude Law in this role. Partly because he
is British). Friends of mine will know that I like the nineteenth century. I enjoy spotting and photographing London’s architecture and although not a diehard
Steampunk person, I find these films full of The Smoke for which London was so
aptly nicknamed… For similar reasons, I am a fan of BBC’s Ripper Street which, after 2 interesting series, is going to be
axed. [ed. it returned to Amazon since this blog was first published]
Also, let's be clear on this point, I am a massive fan of
Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack. I listen to it a lot…
As for Sherlock?
They are even more different from the books. At first, I did not like the
insistence on including contemporary trends, such as hashtags and text
messages, mainly because I think they try to hard to keep it hip or cool, (or whatever the word is these days) and the
idea of Sherlock texting his nemesis Moriarty just lacks a certain
charm! I don’t swoon when Benedict Cumberbatch shakes his dark locks or swoops
around in that coat, but he brings to the role something of the coldness of,
say Brett’s portrayal, combined with some of Downey Junior’s charm. I think he
and Martin Freeman are brilliant actors without which the drama would not work
as well. Again, the dynamic between the two is amazing. Some people might argue
that Sherlock is ridiculous (anyone who saw the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special and Christmas
Special might see the fingerprints of Moffat here). However, for me this is
enjoyable because it is funny and entertaining. Without any spoilers,
Sherlock’s meetings with Watson in the episode just aired were extremely funny.
I love the London
setting too. There is some great stuff on the Internet about this, so I won’t
repeat it, but for more, see this article on Timeout.
http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2014/01/02/the-london-underground-according-to-sherlock/
What is it that I like about Sherlock/Holmes? What do other
people like about him? Like Doctor Who and James Bond, but for slightly
different reasons, he is impossible. His survival is pretty unlikely, and he is
a genius (in his own way) who fights for good. A real hero. He provides a sense
of continuity that we are all looking for. This level of genius and heroism is
reassuring to modern audiences, perhaps because so many of our historical
heroes have been deconstructed, and so few people believe in saints any more. Perhaps
Sherlock reminds us of the ‘impossible’ in other people. After all, we all know
people whose habits infuriate us, or people whose intensely rational approach
is extremely annoying.
I find it immensely reassuring
that Doyle produced this figure of genius, who is irritatingly intelligent and
rational, and two teams have recently brought to the screen this character
without making him seem smaller or less sharp. But they use this sense of his
impossible to humorous and entertaining effect. Isn’t Sherlock/Holmes annoying?
Annoying but endearing.
Long live Sherlock Holmes!
