Following the success of Only Murders in the Building, it was only a matter of time before we got more shows and films coming in to piggyback off the success. I’ll admit when I first saw an ad for The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, I really didn’t think much of it, but I was glad to see the ensemble of actors continuing to get work as they age gracefully into their twilight years. With a film with a cast like Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Jonathan Pryce and several more familiar faces I found myself compelled to give this film a chance. Oh, and how can I forget, though this came as a surprise to me as I watched the closing credits, to discover the film was directed by Chris Columbus? The man is a legend to me just for directing Adventures in Babysitting, a childhood favorite of mine, but he also directed Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom (in my opinion an underrated classic), oh, and the first two Harry Potter films … so the guy has a pretty stacked resume. So with this iconic cast and a prolific filmmaker, how is the film? I found this film charming and one of those gems Netflix has released that is better than anyone would expect.
The Thursday Murder Club is a group of retirees led by Elizabeth (Mirren), a feisty and spirited gal with a secretive past. The gang gets together at Cooper’s Chase, their luxurious retirement home that is basically a refurbished castle, and they solve cold-case murder files. In the group there is also Ibrahim (Kingsley), a retired psychiatrist, and there’s Ron (Brosnan), a former yet highly respected union rep. The cold-case files are from their friend who was a retired officer who is no longer conscious and is withering away in the hospice wing of the residence.
It’s when the co-owner of Cooper’s Chase is murdered and the other owner, Ian Ventham (David Tenant) begins to make moves to evict the occupants of the Cooper’s Chase that the TMC realizes they have a fresh murder case for them to solve, and before they lose their home. As luck would have it, this is when Joyce (Imrie) arrives as the new resident, and fearing that she’ll have nowhere else to go, she aids the Thursday Murder Club in attempting to solve this mystery.
Sure, this feels like an extended episode of Murder She Wrote, but it’s the cast that elevates this to being something so much more. But even beyond the murder mystery aspect, the parts that work the best are seeing these elder characters living their best lives as they look after their loved ones who are slipping away with age or simply finding new love and relationships and making the most of it with the time that they have. There’s certainly a statement being made here that just because age has caught up to these characters, it doesn’t mean that they are no longer the people they were in their youth. Certainly Cooper’s Chase is far more luxurious than 99% of the retirement homes out there, but still the residents have to deal with being neglected by family and seeing the world treat them as though they are feeble children. Seeing the spunk in these characters is part of the charm of it all. As a side note, the amount of cake consumed during this film as the characters attempt to solve this case nearly put me in a diabetic coma, so if you have a sweet tooth, I’m afraid this film will ignite some cravings.
One thing I did feel was missing was I hated how this had such a clean made-for-TV look. I wish the film could have at least attempted to have a little atmosphere. With the exception of one scene in a graveyard at night, the film just felt too sterile. There’s also very little tension and suspense in this film, and for me that was the film’s gravest sin. I’m not asking for this film to be brooding or grim, but it would have gone a long way to put these characters in a little bit of peril. Seriously, just some minor changes and this goes from being a crowd-pleasing film to something that could have been an awards contender.
At the end of the day this really is a cozy mystery that doesn’t ask much of its audience beyond simply enjoying the cast as they play well off one another. This is a far cry from Knives Out, but is still a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. The film is based off a book series written by Richard Osman, with several books in the series, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two more films come to fruition in the upcoming years. Here’s hoping that if another film does come that they can bring back the cast and Chris Columbus, because this is certainly a series that suits him, and I feel the target audience will embrace it once they get a chance to see it.
The Thursday Murder Club is playing exclusively on Netflix.
