Sherlock Holmes Wasn't That Gay of a Movie

When my husband and I went to see Sherlock Holmes this past weekend, I was almost expecting to see a real "gayed" up version of one of my favourite fictional detectives and a real "gayed" up version of the story line. I must confess that I bought into Robert Downey Jr's red herrings and had been misdirected by breathless speculation on the internet.

Sherlock Holmes - The Movie [2009]
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

However, when I discovered that the gayness of Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his so-called gay relationship with his long-time colleague and companion Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) had been greatly exaggerated, I was not disappointed. After all, the alleged gayness of this new version of Sherlock Holmes was not the primary reason I was interested in seeing the film.

Sure, there were moments of homoerotism laying on the surface waiting to burst out, (especially when it came to the "break-up") but I found that for the most part, I'd already witnessed that type of domesticity and power struggle in real life between heterosexual men. Sweet to a certain extent but It wasn't really gay, gay. At the most there was a bi-sexual undercurrent and even then, it was pretty low on the scale. My husband rates the gay factor a zero, while I'm going for a three.

For those who haven't seen Sherlock Holmes yet, the basic gist is that the legendary Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson cross paths with a dark occultist by the name of Lord Blackwood, (Mark Strong) who has been sentenced to hang for a string of ritualistic murders. But for Blackwood, death is only the beginning of his dark plans and it's also the beginning of Holmes and Watson's plunge into their most action packed and exciting and intriguing case yet.

Robert Downey Jr. made a very capable and believable Sherlock Holmes. It was a different Holmes than what's been portrayed on screen thus far, but a most welcome portrayal of an iconic detective. What really pleased me though was Jude Law's portrayal of John Watson. Far too often I've seen the doctor played from weak to very weak and bumbling. And yet, if you read the books, he wasn't a weak and bumbling man. In the first couple of cases Watson was recovering from the war but that's as far as his weakness went; a man recovering and finding his way in his life after service. In the new Sherlock Holmes, Watson is a very capable fighter, investigator and self-assured man.

It's been awhile since I read the Sherlock Holmes mysteries but I'm pretty sure that Inspector Lestrade, (Eddie Marsan) was also more in keeping with how he was portrayed in the stories rather than the TV shows and earlier films. Then again I'm not sure that I've actually read all of the stories. But regardless, I felt that it was a good portrayal of the inspector.

Two of the characters I've always wanted to know a bit more about is Dr. Watson's wife Mary Morstan, (Kelly Reilly) who in this story is Watson's fiancée, and the only woman to ever impress Sherlock Holmes, Irene Adler, (Rachel McAdams). Although the engagement of Dr. Watson and Mary Morstan departs from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's version of how they got together, it was still a good way to introduce us to this character. As for Iren Adler, I look forward to seeing more of this intriguing character too.

All in all, I thought that Guy Ritchie, (RocknRolla) and the cast and crew did a really good job of bringing Sherlock Holmes alive and into a new era. The clues point to a sequel and I'm hopeful that it will go ahead as this is a version of Sherlock Holmes that I really enjoyed.

If Sherlock Holmes is still playing in your area, I highly recommend seeing it in a movie theatre; if not be sure to check it out when it comes out on DVD.

Related Links:
- Sherlock Holmes - Movie Site
- IMDB: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009) on DVD
- Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Granada Television Series (12 DVD)
- The Sherlock Holmes Collection (BBC Version)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
- The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories (2 Vol. Set) (Hardcover)
- The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels (A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear) (Hardcover)