In ‘The Thursday Murder Club,’ Helen Mirren Leads a Dynamic Gang of Senior Sleuths

Sandra Miska

While some senior citizens take up gardening or playing cards in order to keep occupied during their twilight years, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie find a more creative way to stay busy in Netflix’s crime comedy “The Thursday Murder Club.” Based on the first book in a novel series by Richard Osman, this film follows an eclectic group of retirement home residents who meet weekly to try and solve cold cases. Along with a young beat cop (Naomi Ackie), the gang finally gets a chance to prove themselves after a double homicide rocks their quiet community.

Mirren is the ringleader here as Elizabeth, an impressive and sharp woman who was some sort of government agent in her past life, although she shies away from discussing the details. Brosnan is guy’s guy Ron, a retired trade unionist, and Kingsley portrays “confirmed bachelor” and psychologist Ibrahim. Joyce (Imrie), a retired nurse, is recruited into the group in the beginning of the film due to her background dealing with trauma wounds. Their latest cold case is a rather intriguing one, as it involves a young woman who was murdered 50 years ago, most likely by her boyfriend, who subsequently disappeared into thin air. The club sorely misses Polly, a former police officer who is now in the hospice wing being cared for by her husband, John (Paul Freeman). Elizabeth, meanwhile, looks after her dementia-ridden spouse, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), a famous writer who goes in and out of being lucid.

The retirement home, Coopers Chase, is housed inside of a picturesque former convent, and on the grounds is a cemetery. It is a hot piece of land, which is why Ian Ventnam (David Tenant), one of the three owners, a miserly man going through a costly divorce, wants to build luxury condos on it and turn the main house into an event space, which would mean kicking the old folks out. To accomplish this, he needs to get his business partners on board, and it is not long before one of them, Tony Curran (Geoff Bell), turns up dead. Mirren and the others are in rare form as their characters are invigorated by this real-life whodunit in their own backyard. They enlist Donna (Ackie), a smart but awkward local police officer whom they first met when she came to Coopers Chase to lecture about home safety. Donna welcomes the change from writing traffic citations, but she and the club receive pushback from her cartoonishly arrogant boss, Chris (Daniel Mays). After another murder occurs right at their doorstep, the stakes rise for the gain.

The best thing about “The Thursday Murder Club” is how much fun the actors seem to be having, which is infectious. The film also reminds us to never estimate our senior citizens, and director Chris Columbus treats his characters with dignity while also milking some humor out of being of a certain age. The director and actors also tenderly deal with some of the heartbreak that comes along with aging, such as mourning the loss of a friend or spouse while their body is still there. One drawback of the film is that it is a bit overstuffed with supporting characters, who somewhat detract from the veterans.

“The Thursday Murder Club” releases Aug. 28 on Netflix and in select theaters.