The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

We assume it's in modern times when "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" begins. We hear the voice over of Dr. Watson (Colin Blakely) talk about over the years he's chronicled the many cases of Sherlock Holmes. But then he mentions that there were other cases, we get the impression that they were of a much more personal nature, and they shall not be revealed until fifty years after Watson's death.

It seems we all know the stories of Sherlock Holmes, even those of us who haven't read the books know the legend about the man who was a master at deduction. He liked to play his violin, smoke his pipe, and on occasion have a seven per cent solution of heroine.

Most films about Sherlock Holmes even before or after this one have only eluded to his personal habits, because it's mostly the mystery that's most important. But it always begged the question just what was the world's greatest detective like? Really? Isn't that the mystery that most people want to find the solution to?

"The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" is in my mind the definitive filmed version for Holmes affectionados, it's an original story not adapted from a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but it respects the source material and the man. There is a mystery involved, but there are more personal things at stake than usual.

The original script written by Billy Wilder and his long time writing partner I.A.L. Diamond was much longer than the finished film that is left for us. It was over three hours long and consisted of more adventures involving Holmes and Watson all of which I assume dissects the Holmes mystique even more. Even though I'd be curious to see the full film, the final two hour version feels like a full story on its own.

The film focuses mostly on the main mystery in Wilder and Diamond's screenplay concerning a young woman named Gabrielle (Genevieve Page). She appears on Watson and Holmes' (Played here with wonderful wit by Robert Stephens) doorstep one night, cold, wet, and suffering from amnesia. The next day, she is able to come to her senses and tells them that her husband went missing. This leads them to an investigation which will later concern a mystery involving a trip to Loch Ness, government secrets, and German spies. The plot may sound convoluted, and perhaps it is, but it takes a rather surprising and even tragic turn, and makes it into one of Billy Wilder's most poignant films.

I can see why a man like Wilder would be attracted to a character like Holmes in the first place. Both men could be thought of as cold perfectionists, Wilder has often been criticized for being too cynical for his own good, with scripts that may be clever but too calculating. Holmes is a perfectionist as well, a brilliant mind who could be thought of as isolated from the rest of the world. Wilder probably saw a bit of a kindred spirit in Holmes, but also a character that was too good to be true, which wouldn't be to his liking. I couldn't see Wilder make a straight Holmes movie with the mystery taking centre stage over the man, he always has to make his characters flawed and more human, and you can see the fun he has in his mythical makeover.

The beginning of the film has fun with the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Holmes is invited to a ballet where he is propositioned by famous ballet dance to father her children, her reason being he is a brilliant man so she wants brilliant children. Holmes deflects the issue by implying to her that he has carried on an intimate relationship with Dr. Watson for "five wonderful years". This of course has been the running joke in much of the history between Holmes and Watson, the idea of two bachelors sharing living quarters for such a long time without any question to their sexual preference can boggle the mind. Of course it never is settled, but is soon deflated by Watson's own response to the accusation, and later Holmes' growing relationship and fondness for the mysterious Gabrielle.

The film mostly focuses on two aspects of Holmes' legend that again has only been eluded to, his relationship towards women and his constant drug abuse with heroin. The heroin is first introduced in the film for Holmes when he is bored, there isn't a case for him worth solving and it's something to dull his senses. Watson mentions in voice over how there is nothing he can do but wait it out when he's on one of his drug binges. But then Gabrielle shows up and that's when things start taking shape. Almost right away, Holmes seems intrigued with this woman, in many ways, she is his equal. As a character, Holmes is sometimes thought of as a misogynist, something he debunks right away to Watson "I don't hate women, I simply don't trust them." With Gabrielle, comes a character who challenges him, and we see a growing fondness between both of them.

It's in fact Gabrielle who holds the key to the mystery at the end, and which ultimately becomes Holmes' greatest failure on a professional and personal nature. The ending of the film is one of Wilder's greatest, it should be known just as well as the endings he has for "Sunset BLVD", "Some Like it Hot", and "The Apartment", in that it leaves you with just the right note, and shows that at its core, it really is a rather melancholy film.

The more I see "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", the more I love it, it was made by Billy Wilder soon after his golden period had ended. Since "Double Indemnity", Wilder was a hit maker all the way through the sixties, but by the time he made this film in 1970, Hollywood had become overrun by a younger generation. "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" has a more traditional look to it than the contemporaries made at that time, and it wasn't a huge hit, but it remains one of Wilder's great films, and one that will hopefully be rediscovered in years to come.

Movie Review: The Artist

Yes, yes, yes, this is the way movies should be made, this is how they were made all the time, back in the day. You know the time I'm talking about, the time where people like Orson Welles, Hitchcock, and Billy Wilder were making movies. Back when Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin had the creative freedom to make any movie they wanted, back when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced along great art deco of the 1930s, back before all this digital technology, even before the days of television or that infernal Internet thing.

It's no doubt "The Artist" will bring up feelings for the biggest movie lover of that longing for the good old days when movie projections were bigger than life, I got that feeling right at the opening credits, and the beautiful black and white imagery that I saw. "The Artist" was a treat for the eyes, it captures that feeling of glossy Hollywood very well, complete with a tender love story and a lovable dog.

But that's where the similarities end, I was pleased by it's look, it's grandeur, it's charm, but I realized as I was watching it, what I was longing for were those real classic films that were made way back when, the ones that on more than one occasion took my breath away. What I can say for "The Artist" is, it's not without it's charm, it's an affectionate homage, but at times it feels too self-conscious to bring about that same old feeling we want from movies. At it's best, it succeeds some of the time but not all of the time.

The story of "The Artist" comes right out of the greatest Hollywood hits like "Singin in the Rain", "A Star is Born", and "Sunset BLVD". Jean DuJardin plays George Valetin a matinee silent star who falls for young ingenue Peppy Miller (Berenice Beju). As Hollywood moves from silence to sound, George's star falls, while Peppy's rises, yet the two were meant to be together.

Unlike the films "The Artist" attempts to emulate, the story doesn't resort to edgy satire or the bitterness of Hollywood life, it keeps its happy go-lucky tone throughout. Even when George attempts suicide in his apartment, it's never grim, not as long as he has his plucky dog to go out and find help. This type of film works up to a point, you soon realize it's going to be a happy ending, it has to be, although in my opinion it feels more tacked on than anything else, but perhaps that was another homage to old Hollywood as well, back when movies dealing with alcoholism or suicide were forced by the studio to have it end happily.

For their parts DuJardin and Beju are priceless together, they certainly have the type of charm and charisma to carry this type of conciet a long way, and you root for them to be together. The best scenes for me come near the beginning where they're courtship begins, George is attracted to her right away, they have a couple of charming dance numbers and they both seem to perform on the same wavelength not unlike Astaire and Rogers did.

The best scene for me comes when Peppy sneaks into George's dressing room, and she has a nice playing moment with his dinner jacket, of course George comes in and catches her, it's moments like those where the film seems to have its own personality rather than an homage.

The supporting cast is having fun too harking back to that old style of movie acting, particularly John Goodman who plays a big Hollywood mogul, James Cromwell who plays Georges faithful chauffeur, and Penelope Ann Miller who plays his long suffering wife. Miller in particular is underused, and she gets some of our sympathy which hints that maybe George isn't all he's cracked up to be, instead she's conveniently tossed aside in order to focus on the real love story between Peppy and George.

I was indeed happy to see "The Artist" on the big screen, it gives off that certain feeling of being in an old movie theatre and being in the golden days of movie making, perhaps a cartoon and a newsreel at the beginning would've heightened the experience even more. But the more I thought about it, the more I wasn't entirely fulfilled, all it made me feel was deep nostaliga for those real classic films I could watch to no end.

"The Artist" was charming but I don't believe it deserved Best Picture, for me that honor would go to Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris", a charming film itself, but far more contemporary and actually uses satire to make a point about the past it reflects. "The Artist" seems more like a film of the moment, and much like the past itself, it's something that is fleeting.