I spent the most enjoyable weekend last week, watching Sherlock Holmes. I have always been an avid reader of the original Sir Author Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and I can scarcely keep my hands off of the infamous Granada’s Sherlock Holmes series. And of course, like any other avid readers of Sherlock Holmes, I have certain expectation or, some would say, pre-determined supposition as to how Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are like.In my pre-determined supposition, I imagined Sherlock Holmes to be a tall, suave and incredibly eccentric man. He was a man of carefully chosen words in articulating his idea; a man of unexpectedly strong in physique and mind; a man of sharp-tongue and restless and exhaustively energetic. John Watson, on the other hand, I imagined him to be of middle height, immensely eloquent and has a patience of a saint – he has to because with a friend like Sherlock Holmes, how can he not? John Watson, in my mind, is a true gentleman – loyal to the death and has courage most men would envy to have.
Such are the men that I imagined after years being exposed to the repetitive readings (yes, I’m a dork) of Sherlock Holmes. Like any other fans of Sherlock Holmes, when the movie trailer of Sherlock Holmes came out, it was like meeting an old friend. The excitement and anticipation were overwhelming and no amount of critics could sway my intention from watching the movie.
I wasn’t expecting the characters to be exactly like the way I’ve always imagined them to be. Oh, John Watson is as patient, loyal and courageous as I know he would be. But Sherlock Holmes is not within the boundary of my expectation. He is erratic as opposed to restless. He is not tall and the word ‘suave’ apparently is not in his vocabulary of life. In other words, Sherlock Holmes in this movie deviates from my pre-determined supposition.
By right, I should have been disappointed.
By right, I should be criticizing the movie away.
But, inexplicably, I truly enjoy the movie. I was beaming all throughout the movie. It was like watching Sherlock Holmes in an entirely new point of view. He is incredibly messy; not just in his environment but also in appearance. He is erratic, spontaneous and aggressive. And this Sherlock Holmes is insanely addictive!
The plot is alright, I supposed. But I guess, throughout the movie, I was busy making acquaintance with this new Sherlock Holmes and the way John Watson interacted with his friend rather than paying attention to the plot. I instantly fall in love with Jude Law’s John Watson; with his vivid long-suffering expressions that he gave to his friend and his failure of hiding his deep interest in Sherlock Holmes’ cases. And I almost applauded gleefully to the fact the Jude Law was slightly limping from old injuries of old wars, a detail that was missed in Granada series.
Overall, despite the glaring differences, I cannot help but enjoying the movie immensely. It was fun watching Sherlock Holmes from different perspective and when (I have no doubt of that) the sequel come out, I shall be the first in line!
