Review: Young Sherlock Holmes
Today, on the recommendation of the lovely daasgrrl, I saw the movie Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)-not to be confused with Young Sherlock: the Mystery of the Manor House (1982), which I reviewed here. In Young Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Sherlock Holmes meet as schoolboys and solve an action-packed mystery. I think of this film as kind of a predecessor of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes (2009) film with its creepy cult sacrifices and the exciting (though implausible) stunts and fight scenes that the leads pull off.
The screenplay for the movie was written by none other than Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter movies). I love it when my fandoms collide unexpectedly. And whoa, do they collide here. (There’s even an article listing all their similarities with the title “Did Harry Potter Plagiarize Young Sherlock Holmes?”)
The worlds do feel extremely similar, so much that I started thinking of this as an AU in which Sherlock Holmes and John Watson attend Hogwarts. Which I’m totally okay with! Both boarding schools are warm and welcoming-and have great halls with tons of candles-but hide some pretty dark secrets and mysteries. Other similarities include John Watson’s standard-issue national health glasses that are the exact same that Harry Potter wears (this was so squee-inducing that I smiled whenever Watson was onscreen), the pretty scarves, the castle with its spiraling staircases and attic room that serves as Dumbledore’s office (i.e. full of cool gizmos), the two guys/one curly-haired girl dynamic, the blonde Draco Malfoy character, the morally ambiguous teachers, etc. Even the special effects creatures (real in Harry Potter, hallucinated in Young Sherlock Holmes) resemble each other, particularly the dragons.
I found Sherlock Holmes (played by Nicholas Rowe) rather disappointing-despite his curly Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock hair. I think it was mainly because the writers’ vision of his childhood jarred so much with mine. I think of Holmes as rather a loner who is taunted and misunderstood by everyone around him until his Watson walks into his life. Holmes here has his troubles with the school board and is bullied, yes, but the thing is that he’s rather a hero to his fellow schoolmates, and you get the sense that things were going pretty well for him before Watson showed up. Watson even uses that word-heroic-in a game-of-deduction scene. Holmes has at least two teachers who appear to adore him, he’s praised in front of his peers, people at supper go out of their ways to talk to him, and nobody gets on his case for screeching with his violin. He’s applauded and followed around and the talk of the school (“Holmes is going to solve a crime!”).
He even says that his life’s goal is “I never want to be alone,” and in my head, that’s something Holmes should feel on a subconscious level but never think about, and certainly not aloud and in front of people. Not even as a young man. His fencing instructor even implores him to “control [his] emotions or they will be [his] downfall.” I’m like…Sherlock bloody Holmes needs to be told this? For God’s sake, he even has a freakin’ girlfriend. A real-life non-genius girlfriend. With whom he shares a fairly normal relationship. I just can’t see that working with any incarnation of Holmes.
My favorite character, surprisingly, was future-doctor John Watson (played by Alan Cox), who is really the hero of the story here: by the end, his character has become more confident in his own abilities. I’ll admit the Harry Potter glasses predisposed me to love him, but I think I would have anyway. He’s just totally adorable and endearing, sweet without being dumb in any way, and when he tells Holmes he’s amazing, you completely believe him. But it’s his initial reluctance to go along with things that really sells his character to me. His “I can’t afford to jeopardize my medical career!” because daddy will kill him if he gets kicked out of school-yeah, that sounds legit to me. Can I keep him?
Finally, I’m instating a new rule for Sherlock Holmes adaptations, which fortunately the Guy Ritchie and BBC versions have adhered to: if you name-drop Mycroft Holmes, you are now obligated to give him some damn screentime. Twice now in reimaginings of Sherlock’s childhood I’ve been taunted by mentions of this mysterious elder brother, but in both he’s remained offscreen. Unacceptable!
Back to my Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Masterlist: ( Taxi!)
The screenplay for the movie was written by none other than Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter movies). I love it when my fandoms collide unexpectedly. And whoa, do they collide here. (There’s even an article listing all their similarities with the title “Did Harry Potter Plagiarize Young Sherlock Holmes?”)
The worlds do feel extremely similar, so much that I started thinking of this as an AU in which Sherlock Holmes and John Watson attend Hogwarts. Which I’m totally okay with! Both boarding schools are warm and welcoming-and have great halls with tons of candles-but hide some pretty dark secrets and mysteries. Other similarities include John Watson’s standard-issue national health glasses that are the exact same that Harry Potter wears (this was so squee-inducing that I smiled whenever Watson was onscreen), the pretty scarves, the castle with its spiraling staircases and attic room that serves as Dumbledore’s office (i.e. full of cool gizmos), the two guys/one curly-haired girl dynamic, the blonde Draco Malfoy character, the morally ambiguous teachers, etc. Even the special effects creatures (real in Harry Potter, hallucinated in Young Sherlock Holmes) resemble each other, particularly the dragons.
I found Sherlock Holmes (played by Nicholas Rowe) rather disappointing-despite his curly Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock hair. I think it was mainly because the writers’ vision of his childhood jarred so much with mine. I think of Holmes as rather a loner who is taunted and misunderstood by everyone around him until his Watson walks into his life. Holmes here has his troubles with the school board and is bullied, yes, but the thing is that he’s rather a hero to his fellow schoolmates, and you get the sense that things were going pretty well for him before Watson showed up. Watson even uses that word-heroic-in a game-of-deduction scene. Holmes has at least two teachers who appear to adore him, he’s praised in front of his peers, people at supper go out of their ways to talk to him, and nobody gets on his case for screeching with his violin. He’s applauded and followed around and the talk of the school (“Holmes is going to solve a crime!”).
He even says that his life’s goal is “I never want to be alone,” and in my head, that’s something Holmes should feel on a subconscious level but never think about, and certainly not aloud and in front of people. Not even as a young man. His fencing instructor even implores him to “control [his] emotions or they will be [his] downfall.” I’m like…Sherlock bloody Holmes needs to be told this? For God’s sake, he even has a freakin’ girlfriend. A real-life non-genius girlfriend. With whom he shares a fairly normal relationship. I just can’t see that working with any incarnation of Holmes.
My favorite character, surprisingly, was future-doctor John Watson (played by Alan Cox), who is really the hero of the story here: by the end, his character has become more confident in his own abilities. I’ll admit the Harry Potter glasses predisposed me to love him, but I think I would have anyway. He’s just totally adorable and endearing, sweet without being dumb in any way, and when he tells Holmes he’s amazing, you completely believe him. But it’s his initial reluctance to go along with things that really sells his character to me. His “I can’t afford to jeopardize my medical career!” because daddy will kill him if he gets kicked out of school-yeah, that sounds legit to me. Can I keep him?
Finally, I’m instating a new rule for Sherlock Holmes adaptations, which fortunately the Guy Ritchie and BBC versions have adhered to: if you name-drop Mycroft Holmes, you are now obligated to give him some damn screentime. Twice now in reimaginings of Sherlock’s childhood I’ve been taunted by mentions of this mysterious elder brother, but in both he’s remained offscreen. Unacceptable!
Back to my Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Masterlist: ( Taxi!)