Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009)

The eponymous 2009 film adaptation of Sherlock Holmes probably marks the beginning of the “modern” Sherlock Holmes, introducing a younger generation to the famous detective, his adventures, as well as his allies and enemies. 

A catchy melody and the gloomy look of Victorian London in 1890 introduce the audience to Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are trying to prevent an occult priest, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), from committing another ritualistic murder. Blackwood becomes a clever opponent of Holmes and provides him with all sorts of puzzles that must be solved to stop him. Blackwood even orchestrates his death and resurrection to gain more followers and widen his political standing. Holmes uncovers Blackwood’s plot step by step. This story is not based on the books of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as the character of Lord Blackwood never appears in them. However, Ritchie uses familiar motifs from the original material, such as Watson’s engagement to Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly) and the character of Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) to create his story.

Ritchie’s vision in making this film was to bring to life one of the most popular characters in literature in a new and innovative way. Holmes appears more physical and definitely more flawed and manic than in previous versions. Earlier adaptations portrayed Holmes as a very stiff, “only interested in his work” character (as in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1983-1985) with Jeremy Brett as Holmes), or a parody of upper-class Britishness that lacks emotional depth (Without a Clue 1988). He does not form attachments or let his actions be moved by emotions. Instead of a gentleman with a Deerstalker hat and a pipe, we see an adventurer with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a dangerous right hook. One of the key figures in this process is the director of photography, Philippe Rousselot. Through his camera work and specific lighting style, he manages to portray the fights Holmes is involved in as detailed to the spectator as possible. With his choices of shot and frame, he can put the spectator right in the middle of the action of the scene. A good example is inside an illegal battle ring, where Holmes visits and occasionally fights and bets upon his win. What follows is what Guy Ritchie called “Holmesvision” in the “Making Of Extras” to the film, which illustrates Holmes thought process and depicts the fight scene (Silver). The fight is captured in slow motion, accompanied by Holmes’s explanations of his anticipated approach via voice-over. Later, the fight is repeated in real-time.

A scene like this shows just how dynamic the camera work and lighting have to be to capture the movements as precisely as possible. Similarly, in Rousselot’s general lighting of the sets, he prefers dimmable light bulbs, managing to convey just the right amount of darkness without the characters disappearing completely into the shadows and helping to build the atmosphere of the film (Silver). This is especially true of the character’s faces, which are of utmost importance for the DP, as he points out in an interview for the Marburger Kamerapreis in 2021. The whole set is designed with great attention to detail and manages to bring a dark Neo-Victorian London to life. Holmes’s chaotic study with authentic props is just one example of the dedication to detail visible in the set decorations. The film score, composed by Hans Zimmer, gives the film its rhythm and underlines above all, the velocity of Holmes’s conclusions or various chases during the course of the film.

Above all, the chemistry between Holmes and Watson and their ready-to-face dialogues make the film stand out from being just a simple action film. At least one critic has interpreted the chemistry between the crime-solving duo as potentially homoerotic. It is reasonable to assume that the creators of the BBC series Sherlock, which began in 2010, used aspects of Guy Ritchie’s adaptation as inspiration for the drawing of their Holmes character (Seeßlen 243-244).

One example of this connection between the two versions would be the way Sherlock’s thinking process is visualized. Earlier adaptations of Doyle’s work have never really allowed the audience to look inside the detective’s head, with Holmes only explaining his deductions. These new versions, however, try to not only make sense of the way London’s greatest detective is thinking, but also how he perceives and calculates his surroundings through excessive visualization, which can be seen in Ritchie’s “Holmesvision” and the BBC Sherlock’s “Palace of Thought,” in which the detective ever so often retreats to collect his thoughts (Silver).

Even though Ritchie’s version of the brilliant detective may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Doyle’s murder-solving, violin-playing Sherlock Holmes, he created an adaption that that is both entertaining and that can easily compete with others. Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes unifies familiar features with new, captivating characteristics surrounding not only the protagonist, but also his allies, enemies, adventures, and even London itself.

References

Seeßlen, Georg. Filmwissen: Detektive Grundlagen des Populären Films. Schüren, 2011. 

Silver, Joel, et al. Sherlock Holmes. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2009. 

Marburger Kamerapreis 2020/21. Marburger Kamerapreis 2020/21 | YVE.TV, https://yve.tv/marburger-kamerapreis?fbclid=IwAR100HGfY2pSlK2suMlMzhqxgz9NpllBFSG2uIjJOT1D9rh0WzP44N2b8.