The Thursday Murder Club

This is an interesting age for movies, because they’re only a hundred years old, commercially, so there are an increasing number of actors who are aging out of the business. As the industry grows and grows there are more actors than before which equals more old actors than before, leading to more of the Old Actor Movies being made. There is the action packed Expendables for people who don’t mind seeing old men still mixing it up and cracking jokes. Recently there was 80 for Brady a paeon to Tom Brady from three famous American actors, oddly enough, produced by Tom Brady. The women looked their age, with a lot of scenes shot while they were sitting or standing.

The Thursday Murder Club is the British equivalent, with a slew of some of my favorite English actors. Set in the fictional retirement home Coopers Chase, a few of the old guard have their own private activity that is nothing like the painting or llama feedings others attend. They try to solve cold cases that have long been abandoned, from case files they shouldn’t have access to. On her first day at Coopers Chase, Joyce is recruited temporarily for her medical knowledge and quickly decides the intrigue and brain work is a lot of fun. Plus, everyone loves her cakes. The head of the group, Elizabeth, is unimpressed by Joyce, but Ron and Ibrahim are delighted to have a new person. Suddenly, everyone is confronted with the loss of their home, and two brand new murders that happen on their doorstep.

I’m a fan of the cozy murder mystery. They are unchallenging, not violent and promote solving puzzles over hour long gun battles and car chases. There is more than one mystery at play, but the murders are nicely constructed to give the viewer a chance to guess whodunnit from a large number of suspects. The setting is Englefield House, which is a beautiful old estate where many productions have filmed. These retirees are loaded. Obviously. Humor is a strong theme, and everyone does a great job.

In stark contrast to the American old actors movie, the acting is stelar across the board, whether from old or younger actors. One of the constables eats a candy bar in a way that immediately took me back to The Bad News Bears, and that made me laugh. Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect, Red, The Queen), who is over 80, still moves with grace and exudes intelligence and grit. Her character is, unfortunately, not as secretive as I would have hoped. She plays someone very much like one of her more famous roles and it detracted a bit from the story. Pierce Brosnan (Remington Steele, Goldeneye, Mobland) is Ron, a spry 73, sporting a handsome beard and an upbeat character. He pairs well with bestie Ibrahim, played by Ben Kingsley (Schindler’s List, Lucky Number Slevin, Iron Man 3), also spry at 83. He is the amusingly fastidious didactic brain of the group. Joyce is played by Celia Imrie (Upstairs Downstairs, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Dr. Who) and just a baby at 74. She is one of my all time favorite actresses who always brings it, especially if there is humor involved. Other notables include Daniel Mays, as hilarious as always, and youngster Naomie Ackers. She is the young Constable pulled into the inexorable orbit of the old guard, and to whom the legacy is passed at the end. She holds her own with her award laden co-stars.

As I said, this is a cozy, and it’s funny and just challenging enough to hold interest. The acting is solid, and not sedentary at all. I enjoyed the film very much while watching it. It wasn’t until I ruminated overnight that it began to bug me about Elizabeth being fairly transparent if the viewer is familiar with Mirren’s resume. There were a couple of small plot holes that also bugged me once I thought a bit about everything. I think you will enjoy this quite a bit the same way I did while watching. You may not be somewhat disappointed as this jaded old viewer was later. I do recommend seeing it, with your feet up and maybe a purring kitty on your lap while sipping tea and nibbling cookies.

Triggers: it’s a cozy, so a briefly seen pool of blood and an ancient skeleton is about the worst of it

Available on: sorry to say, this is also a Netflix movie, and Prime Video

LINKS:

• The Thursday Murder Club – Official Netflix Site
• The Thursday Murder Club – IMDB
• The Thursday Murder Club – Wikipedia
• SPOILERS – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED: The Thursday Murder Club Ending Explained: Who Committed All the Murders?

CFR: In Addition

Hmmmm… I don’t know how to write this so here goes.

Yes I did enjoy this movie. I also enjoyed listening to parts of the audiobook. I like that the women are seen as capable and both men and women treat each other with respect and friendship. I really liked the friendship. The actors chosen for the roles were perfect. Great chemistry and great acting that comes from practicing your craft for decades as well as having talent too.

I like cozy stories. Although I have to laugh when I hear “cozy mystery” because what is actually cozy about murder? Ok, that’s another essay. I personally think cozy means a group of people who love and care for each other. That can be very cozy indeed.

Now I was shocked when I discovered that this book, which is long and detailed and well written, was going to be a movie because come on! This is so limited series material! But I read that the author thought series were overdone so movie it was.

Another good point about this movie is that it is beautiful. The color palette is rich and green and reminded me so much of my trips to England. It is beautiful land and this movie ups the color palette and makes every frame gorgeous. The movie feels 3-D, minus any dizzy effects, because the colors were so rich. Applause for the cinematographer.

Ok, so now I am going to write what I have struggled to write for close to a week. I don’t want to be mean, or callous, or a horrible person and I’m not in the mood to justify my position. It also involves a big spoiler. So here goes.

BEGIN SPOILER

I can’t fully love this movie or book because of the very end. The murder mystery that starts this book is solved at the very end. However, to me it screams friendship betrayal. I’ll try to explain.

A friend of the Thursday Murder Club is now in hospice and is basically in a coma and near death. Her name is Penny. She is watched over by her loving and devoted husband, John. For me this is extra special because Penny was one of the first police women in the 70s and had way more in your face hostile sexism than I think we have today. (Today’s sexism tends to be subtle. Just as nasty and painful, but subtle.) So I have a LOT of respect for that woman who stayed a police officer and worked there her whole life. Go Penny! Plus her husband, John, was a great partner. You don’t often see that in a story. The career woman is always alone or has a bad marriage. I am freaking sick of that. So this loving marriage was appreciated by me

Why are you upset, CFR? Ok, ok, I’m getting there.

The first murder that starts off of the book and is solved at the very end, is the one Penny commits. She kills a man who killed his girlfriend. The good old boy cops in her station did not want to bother with the case and so the boyfriend got away with it. More than likely he will go and kill or beat up or terrorize another girlfriend. So Penny takes it into her own hands and stops him with some death.

I don’t really have a problem with that. Maybe it is because it is in a book and in real life that is way too horrible. But. Well. Good. My guess is he probably will do it again, so Penny saved the life of another person who was not going to commit violence on others.

This leads to the second murder, which was committed by John to protect both her and Penny from getting caught for the first murder because they both hid the body. The second person had to be killed, Ian Ventham, because he was going to dig up a cemetery and gut the retirement home and make the residents all homeless, including our intrepid Murder Club. (Hey, it’s an Osman book, it goes deep.) Oh and Ian was working with Curran, who was basically a slaver (IMHO) because he brought Eastern European men to England with the promise of work. Then he stole their passports and made them work for next to nothing.

There is also a third murder – how could I forget – that was an accident and was committed by one of the Eastern European men being enslaved by Curran, who is named Bogdan. When confronted, he admits but it was an accident. He just wanted to get his passport back. (Good for him, IMHO.)

I said Osman goes deep, right?

Now this is where I get really angry.

The Murder Club sympathizes with Bogdan. He is treated kindly by them. I don’t remember what happened in the book, but in the movie he is taken away but you get the idea he will not spend much time in jail if at all. Good. He shouldn’t in my opinion.

However.

Penny. The good friend. The one who gave the Murder Club their fuel by showing them cold cases is not given such grace. Neither is John.

At the end the Murder Club quartet go to the dying woman’s room, who is in a coma, with the grieving husband and confronts them. Penny stays in that coma, BTW, but John is so remorseful. He loves his wife and basically his and her life are pretty much over. She will die soon and the hole that will be left in John’s heart is a hole larger than the Grand Canyon. In short, there is plenty of suffering in that room.

And the Murder Club betrays them by announcing that they will be calling the police to turn them in.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? EFF YOU! LOUSY FRIENDS!

Don’t write to me and explain the justice. Good for you. I was and still am disgusted. An abuser and a user of slaves were stopped. Penny and John, in their room of despair, death, and loneliness, are already paying the karmic price, if any, of their actions. When confronted, John is woefully sorry for his actions. Much like Bogdan. Yet he is told the police will be called and he will be taken into custody. WTF. He asks for a moment alone with Penny and then takes his and Penny’s life with an overdoes of fentanyl.

I doubt I will read another one of the books, but I might. However, I cannot stomach betrayal. I cannot stomach the self-righteousness of those four as they go to a room of death and despair and lay on more pain. That for me, is betrayal. And that, I cannot forgive.

Maybe one day I will see it differently. That is quite possible. For today, no. You see my husband of 27 years, the love of my life, my miracle of love, died three years ago. I know the pain of losing a spouse. I know that gaping feeling of not seeing any point in living. I know the feeling of deep loneliness and despair. I can only see John’s suffering and image his questioning his life’s end. I will cannot call that ending justice. Maybe one day I will.

But not today.

END SPOILER