I chose to watch the series “Sherlock,” which is a modern day interpretation by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Detective Sherlock Holmes is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and his partner, John Watson, is played by Martin Freeman. The series starts with Watson returning to 221 Baker Street following Military service in Afghanistan with the Royal Army Medical Corps. He is introduced to Sherlock Holmes, who is a highly intelligent but emotionally cold individual. The local police are initially suspicious of the socially quirky detective, but eventually grow to respect Holmes and his acute awareness of finite details and crime solving ability.
As the series evolves, we see the relationship dynamic between Holmes and Watson. The 'practical' Watson is periodically frustrated with Holmes for his emotionally detached behavior. His frustration is tempered by Sherlock's ability to piece together seemingly unrelated information successfully. Given that observation, Watson channels his energy on the innocent victims of crime, and Sherlock's ability to help them.
Holmes, on the other hand, seem oblivious to the external frustrations felt by the people around him. He is unmoved by the police and their annoyance that he ignores typical protocol. Sherlock does not mean to be disrespect those in charge of criminal investigations, but innately knows the fine details will aid police in the long run, and can't be bothered with arbitrary rules. Sherlock's character portrayal is consistent with traditional portrayals from the past, including speech, despite the stories taking place in modern day London. All the other characters are modernized and speak in a contemporary fashion, short of using trendy speech or slang terminology.
In the series, we are introduced to new characters, like Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. Sherlock has a tempestuous relationship with his brother given their enduring sibling rivalry and quest to better the other in matters of intelligence. Mycroft is played by co-creator, Mark Gatiss, and is the more socially aware of the two brothers. Their rivalry is more a battle of wits than adversarial.
Jim Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott, is a nemesis to Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty is initially introduced through character dialogue. He kidnaps and poisons two innocent children. After the children are rescued, the investigators notice the children's fearful reaction to Holmes. This leads the investigators to believe that whoever kidnapped the children disguised themselves as Holmes in an effort to frame him. By this time, the relationship with the police and Holmes is well established, and Sherlock's reputation for solving crimes is rooted in his devotion to defend the innocent. Jim Moriarty, is later revealed, along with his determination to destroy Holmes and remove him as a crime solving obstacle.
As adaptations go, I love the modern day depiction of Holmes as an eccentric genius, and Watson as the equally intelligent, yet frustrated, 'every-man'. This makes the characters more relatable, and allows humor to be injected into the stories. Past adaptations portray Holmes as above criticism (as he was the only one leading investigations), and Watson was merely a supportive sidekick. While that is the more traditional approach, it leaves the characters one dimensional. I feel this modern portrayal is more emotionally layered. While audience members can watch episodes separately, the series has an overarching story-line involving criminal associations with Moriarty. Some of the episodes have mini arcs spanning through two or three episodes, or end on a series cliffhanger.
Those being introduced to the Sherlock Holmes series for the first time may want to start from the beginning to best understand the dynamic between main characters. Even those unfamiliar with the original Sherlock Holmes can be entertained by the fresh portrayal of the current iteration being shown on Amazon Video. Overall, this modernized Sherlock Holmes is worth viewing for the clever storytelling, character development, overall attention to detail, and beautiful cinematography.
No comments:
Post a Comment