As I was watching "Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows" at the La Grange cinema on Saturday night, with my very gorgeous husband (eh hem), these words were occurring to me... This film is a symphony of delectable, steam-punk art, woven with perfect clock-work precision... For example... The delicate clink of a fine bone china tea-cup into its saucer, resonating in the peaceful silence of a Victorian tea-room, seconds before the ear-splitting explosion of utter chaos and destruction, as a (finely crafted clockwork) bomb goes off in the next room...
The grandiose Hollywoodizing and special effect infusing of the original idea of Sherlock seems more appropriate now, and less irritatingly incongruous somehow, than the first movie. It's all so cleverly done - a little too clever, yes - but somehow, this cleverness seems to go nicely with the extremely clever nature of Sherlock's character - it seems only right. So what if they're trying to sell more tickets at the box office with more physical fight scenes, chase scenes, slo-mo sequences, special effects and bombast? It's extremely well done, and deserves the credit for it, in its own right. For example, I love the way they dissect several fight scenes, showing them first in extreme slo-mo, with a blow-by-blow narration in Holmes' calm voice, explaining the purpose behind each intricate move, and then showing them again at full speed, with the full whizz-bang effect PLUS our greater understanding, having learned what each move means and how each move is planned - we can see it again and appreciate it even more, even at full speed. (It's kind of like watching a very clever demonstration by a martial arts instructor).
For any that doubt that the original Sherlock Holmes was quite so muscular and physical - a little research will tell you otherwise - see the historical write up in the Wikipedia (with examples from the original books) - where it has been noted that he was infact "a formidable bare-knuckle fighter", and "trained as a boxer" and "used his knowledge of martial arts in practice when overcoming some of his foes", and in several stories, Holmes demonstrates or is described as having "above average physical strength". (See link below). But more than that - this movie has layers - on the surface, you've got the action scenes that appeal to the younger crowd, or perhaps the less intellectual audience - (but hey, I found them a rollicking joy ride and didn't complain!) But, also, beneath that, you've got the more cerebral elements that appeal to the more artistic audience - the intricacy of the details that you can spot if you look and listen closely - (e.g. close ups of certain important objects that give clues to the mystery), the delightful congruence of the music, sound, cinematography, choreography, costume, set, acting and timing - that all dances together in perfect rhythm to form a beautifully spectacular whole.
The chess game scene between Holmes and his adversary, Professor Moriarty, is a great example of the cerebral depth of this movie - going beyond pure physical "biff" and "bam" - It's an awe-inspiring mind-game between these two great minds who have met their match - The entire movie celebrates Holmes' superior intelligence, but this scene is really the climax of the whole movie, where his intelligence bounces off Moriarty's, and leaps off into a furious cadenza of intellect, fueled by passion. Without giving away the ending of this scene, suffice it to say it is a spectacular climax. (And all woven together with a rich tapestry of music, camera work, acting and timing which builds the tension to its peak). The music deserves its own paragraph (two actually), so impressive it was in this movie! As with all movies, the music is designed to help build the emotions, the tension, the atmosphere. Some film scores do this better than others. As a musician myself, I can't help noticing the music independently of the movie (quite often find myself taken out of the story because of elements I notice with the music). While this could be distracting, I actually find it enriching - it doesn't take me out of the story completely - I can still be absorbed in what's going on - but it's kind of like an out-of-body experience - I float above the scene for a few seconds and observe the music (and even picture the orchestra playing and the conductor waving his baton and the editors mixing it afterward, etc)... and I just appreciate the way it's done. One example of where I found the music particularly impressive was the scene where Watson is trying to get to Holmes (who's trapped in a tower with the evil Moriarty), and the tension is building as Watson is creeping along, trying to find a way in...Suddenly, we hear a sound like hundreds of clocks ticking very loudly all at the same time... It wasn't clocks, but it took me a few seconds to figure out what it was - it was stringed instruments - probably the entire string section of the orchestra - all bouncing the backs of their bows (the hard wooden part) on their strings, in a strict "tick-tock" rhythm... It was a most peculiar sound, extremely eerie, and very nerve-wracking - like the ticking of a time-bomb... I felt the tension so acutely, but at the same time, had to grin with amazement at the cleverness of this use of instrumentation.
And then there's the humor! - With this witty a script, these first class actors were able to really shine. I didn't cringe at a single cliché. (Unlike in Tin Tin, which I've just seen, which abounds with clichés). The banter between the characters is delightful, spiced up by an undeniably homo-erotic tension between Holmes and Watson. (Subtly done though - so subtle that some critics thought it wasn't there at all - but I thought it was unmistakable). The addition of Stephen Fry, portraying Holmes' eccentric brother was a real bonus too - Fry's presence in any movie just lifts the calibre of the movie instantaneously several notches, and one can't help smiling when Fry's in the scene, knowing there's going to be moment after moment of delightfully witty, and ever-so-terribly-upper-class-English fun and frivolity. It would be hard to settle on a favorite scene, but I can't help coming back again and again to the wedding scene between Watson and his poor, beleaguered bride. After a failure of a "Stag party" (a.k.a. Bachelor party) in which best man Holmes does nothing for his groom-to-be except get him deeper into trouble, at least the one thing Holmes does manage to do is drag the paralytic (a.k.a. extremely drunk) Watson to the church, just in the nick of time for his wedding ceremony - ("The Hangover" doesn't even come close!) The look on Watson's deathly pale, ashen gray face when he hears the bagpipes wailing, and sees his bride walking into the church (where he is supposed to be) and the way Holmes drags him like a rag doll - all disheveled and bruised and muddy - into the church - to face his immaculately dressed and beautiful bride - is absolutely priceless!
My only criticism of the movie? While we got to see Robert Downey Jr shirtless (for quite a few scenes), and even Stephen Fry shirtless (and bottomless too - rather more than one would care for!), and though I waited with great patience, we were not treated to a shirtless Jude Law... Awww... Ah well - the visuals, the special effects, the artistry, the music, the timing, the editing, the acting... I could go on... all made up for not seeing Jude Law shirtless, in the end... I could watch this whole movie again and again (not just for the male "eye-candy" - of which I think there is more in this movie than female "eye-candy" - sorry to those who prefer looking at females!) It's one of those films that is so jam packed full of cool things to see, you cannot absorb it all on the first viewing.
Yes - I'm putting the DVD on my wish list! References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/
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