First of all, is this really what retirement looks like?
If so, perhaps we should all sign up, no matter our age. In “The Thursday Murder Club,” an amiable, cozy, pleasantly entertaining adaptation of Richard Osman’s mystery novel, the lucky club members live in a retirement home that resembles Downton Abbey.
The food at this dreamy manor house nestled in the English countryside is scrumptious, with a choice of wines at lunch. The apartments are huge, the antiques tasteful, the archery and life-drawing classes top-notch. And the emotional support animals are llamas. Yes, llamas.
This is the setting, quaintly called Coopers Chase, in which four retirees, led by Helen Mirren in her no-nonsense plaid blazers, depart from yoga and Sudoku each week to consider cold cases. Old folks solving cases — and outthinking police — is nothing new in our popular culture. Let’s recall “Murder, She Wrote,” in which Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher solved cases in tiny Cabot Cove, Maine — where close to 300 murders somehow occurred during the show’s 12-year run.
The crime-busting seniors in “The Thursday Murder Club,” directed by Chris Columbus, are nowhere near that fortunate in terms of body count. But they approach their weekly meetings with gusto. Mirren’s Elizabeth has skills from a career in “international affairs” (smells like espionage). Pierce Brosnan’s Ron is former trade unionist, and Ben Kingsley’s Ibrahim a former psychiatrist. As we begin, the trio is considering a case from the ’70s in which a woman fell out a window under mysterious circumstances.
But they need medical expertise, and thus they recruit new resident Joyce (Celia Imrie), an expert baker and former trauma nurse. We meet her as she’s showing off the grounds to her haughty daughter, who manages a hedge fund and can’t eat Mom’s cakes because she’s perimenopausal. “Everybody’s doing llamas these days, Mum,” she says, unimpressed with the surroundings.
But Joyce is thrilled to join the club, and even more thrilled when, one morning, news comes that an actual murder has occurred — a co-owner of Coopers Chase, actually. “Now we’ve got a real case to solve!” she gushes, with “Disco Inferno” suddenly playing on the soundtrack (that’s a little much), as she pulls Ron from aqua aerobics for a meeting. “Isn’t it wonderful!”
But no, it isn’t all wonderful — the deceased had promised to protect the retirees from the plans of another co-owner to demolish the home and make an event space. The shady Ian Ventham (David Tennant) also intends to uproot the cemetery. Ron organizes a noisy protest. And then, yet another murder happens.
Naomi Ackie is appealing as a police officer who aches for exciting work, and Daniel Mays very funny as her clueless boss. As for the plot – well, the rather dry storyline is not what brings pleasure here.
No, that pleasure is derived from seeing these veterans strut their stuff, foremost among them Mirren. (Kingsley, alas, gets almost no good lines). Her most delicious moment is a direct nod to her Oscar-winning role as a different Elizabeth. Heading out on an incognito mission with Joyce, she dons a silk headscarf, a comfy cardigan, a tartan skirt and a walking stick. “You look like the Queen!” notes her husband. “Do I?” she asks, cheekily.
But moments later, on the bus with Joyce, Elizabeth has a scene that rings false. Reading a text message, she asks her friend: “What does WTF mean?” Joyce explains, loudly, what it means, saying she learned it from her daughter. A young mother with a child nearby is shocked at the profanity. It’s all too cute by half. We’re supposed to believe razor-sharp Elizabeth doesn’t know what “WTF” means?
It’s a few moments like this that cause some discomfort, raising the question of whether these characters are being, well, caricatured. Columbus seems to acknowledge the issue with an exchange where Joyce tells Elizabeth that she feels like she’s in “one of those Sunday night dramas about two bright-eyed, feisty, old lady detectives outsmarting the police at every turn.” Annoyed, Elizabeth tells her never to utter the words again.
In any case, there’s a sadder undertone that provides some grounding here. Elizabeth’s husband — poignantly played by Jonathan Pryce — is in the early stages of dementia, a fact Elizabeth is keeping from him. He has his good days and his bad ones, she explains to a friend. Sometimes he’s his old self, and sometimes he’s just gone.
It’s a message that even if our main protagonists seem healthy and active, they’re at a stage in life where every day is a bit more precarious. “Cherish the good moments,” the friend tells Elizabeth.
It’s a good message, overall, for the movie. The script could certainly be sharper, the comedy more clever. But for two hours on Netflix, Coopers Chase is rather a comfy place to be, with some moments to cherish.
“The Thursday Murder Club,” a Netflix release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for violent content/bloody images, strong language and some sexual references.” Running time: 118 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
