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The Snarky Victorian is happy to have Stevie Miller guest
reviewing a steampunk-influenced Victorian flick this week: "Sherlock
Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Enjoy!
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Sherlock Homes: The Case of the Steampunk Film Review
Entertaining and exciting, Sherlock Holmes (2009) offers
Holmes as an action hero and not just an intellectual. Robert Downey Jr. gives
a superb performance in the title role, showing us a Holmes who is brilliant,
obsessively observant, a bit mad, and an all-around badass.
What are you in for when you see this film? Expect top-notch
scenery, costuming, props, and music—and enough good things cannot be said
about the music. Hans Zimmer’s score combines a distinctly British cultural
flavor with a dark undercurrent appropriate for London’s back-alleys, then
weaves it all together with Holmes’ trademark violin. A few clever transitions
are used between Holmes plucking at his violin strings and the music in the
score to draw this connection without slowing down the plot to make the
audience sit through a recital.
What’s really going to polish your goggles in this movie,
though, is the amazing banter between Holmes and Watson. This Watson,
affectionately referred to as “Hotson” by the crew, is an updated version of Holmes’
sidekick, played by Jude Law. This Watson is no portly or slow old fellow who
plods along cheering for Holmes’ every deduction. He’s a witty, sharp-dressed,
former military man who won’t take any crap from his longtime friend. The lines
Downey Jr. and Law toss effortlessly to one another are sharp, subtle, and
brilliantly timed. You’ll spend half the movie laughing—if you’re clever enough
to keep up with those two.
With all the good, there must be a bit of bad. That
unfortunately comes in the form of Irene Adler, played by Rachel McAdams,
Holmes’ former lover and ongoing obsession. Where Holmes and Watson are
throwing witty barbs by the dozens, something just doesn’t quite work between
Adler and Holmes. The first time they meet in the film, McAdams seems a bit
off, even shy, next to Downey Jr., and there’s a distinct lack of chemistry
between the two.
Things pick up a bit in the next scene, as Holmes follows
Adler through the back alleys of London, and says to himself “There’s the Irene I remember,” as she
shows a bit of spunk. The problem is the actual interaction between Adler and
Holmes. Is this really the only woman
to be Holmes’ intellectual equal? She just can’t seem to hold her own with him.
Compare this to the restaurant scene with Holmes, Watson, and Mary, Watson’s
girlfriend (played by Kelly Reilly), where she proves herself more than able to
handle what the detective dishes out.
What does this film have to offer Steampunks? There’s a lot
of delicious Victorian aesthetic to be had in the setting, costuming, language,
and mannerisms. You’ll have a jolly good romp through a very realistic old
London, along with a smattering of “SCIENCE!” in the form of a couple
laboratories and some early versions of biological weapons.
On the flip side, this film doesn’t have some elements that
would traditionally classify it as Steampunk. Arthur Conan-Doyle isn’t
typically grouped with the “founding fathers” of Victorian science fiction that
comprise Steampunk’s forebears. Realistic and rational like its hero, this
movie doesn’t contain any outright magic, fantasy, or overly-stretched
science—at least, not any that isn’t revealed by our favorite detective by the
end.
That said, this film does a great job of getting into
Holmes’ head and showing us—not telling us—how he thinks. You’ll see his
hyper-awareness, peculiar mood-swings, and what he gets up to in his off-hours.
While not all of these elements are necessarily part of the original Holmes
fiction, they do provide a very interesting individual to get to know and
follow around. The bottom line? You will have a jolly good time watching this
movie. Smashing!
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Stevie Miller is a writer, artist, gardener, and Steampunk
enthusiast who has an inexplicable affection for cephalopods. You can find her
serialized Steampunk adventure, Society for the Promotion of Tentaclebeasts.
