M, 121 minutes

3 Stars

Review by © Jane Freebury

There can’t be anybody aged over 60, retired or not, who doesn’t warm to the idea of a bunch of sharp-minded retirees proving their worth by solving a murder. Infinitely more fun for those with a bit of life left in them yet, than sudoku, painting landscapes in watercolour or jigsaws.

The Thursday Murder Club of amateur sleuths meet at their allotted time at Coopers Chase retirement home, in between the ‘intermediate knitting’ class and other group activities that have the games room booked.

A cold case gets them going. They have heard about a young woman who was murdered in London in 1973. The perpetrator was never found and though her boyfriend was a key suspect, he was released. The TMC members, former trade union official Ron (Pierce Brosnan), former psych Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), a former MI6 agent, smell a rat. When they get some definitive information from Joyce (Celia Imrie), a former trauma nurse, from a file photo of the victim, the sleuthing begins in earnest. Joyce, a new arrival at Coopers Chase, becomes a TMC member too.

When a murder takes place in their own neighbourhood, it is, once they have said RIP, quite thrilling. The unfortunate victim was one of the owners of their luxury retirement establishment, that is in danger of becoming a luxury property development. When the the Club learn that another co-owner, keen to see Coopers Chase turned into luxury apartments, is set to benefit from the man’s death, they are incandescent.

As the lead character, Elizabeth, the Club’s driving force, versatile, 80 y o Helen Mirren is still very good fun to be with. As a result of the ‘wide portfolio’ of skills she learnt in her former employment in espionage, Elizabeth can provide the hard edge in interrogation, while Joyce can offer tea and cozy comfort with multi-tiered, colourful cakes that are quite mesmerising.

Here and elsewhere, silver-haired ladies have had a special place in English crime capers, especially in wonderful old Ealing comedies like Arsenic and Old Lace and The Ladykillers. The Coen brothers remade the latter, unfortunately. See the black-and-white original from the 1950s instead.

Despite its dazzling stars and so much going for it, it’s a moderately entertaining caper

The key creative behind the zany TMC idea is talented Richard Osman, author of the popular crime fiction novel of the same name, the first of a series, published early in the pandemic. As anyone who follows his The Rest is Entertainment podcast with Marina Hyde would know, Osman is steeped in entertainment matters. It is fascinating to see how many other creatives with huge heft in the industry are attached to the movie adaptation of his book.

Steven Spielberg’s company has produced, while Chris Columbus (Home Alone 1 and 2, some Harry Potter) directs. Screenwriters, Katy Brand (showrunner for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) and Suzanne Heathcote, are well established.

With actors like a former James Bond, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and a former Dr Who, David Tennant taking part, success would seem assured. If for no other reason than that it is lovely to be in the company of such assured and accomplished stars. Here you have them all to yourselves for a couple of hours.

Everyone in frame looks splendid, especially Brosnan with his grey mane and Mirren, always glamorous. Except for the moment Elizabeth and Joyce visit the police station to see Constable Donna (Naomie Ackie), hoping to get her assigned to the case they are building. In those scenes in which Mirren adopts the little old lady look with headscarf and cane, she reminds us and her husband (Jonathan Pryce) of the late Queen. It was Mirren’s portrayal of the monarch in The Queen in 2007 that won her an Oscar.

The movie already has an established audience through the Osman’s books, and it makes direct appeal to the seniors that many of its talent represent. Yet, with so much going for it, including the current craze for crime fiction, yet The TMC is only moderately entertaining. Viewers who have, unlike me, read Osman’s book, can make their own assessments on how the page to screen adaptation went, but as a film it falls quite a bit short of the high standard British comedy has set in the crime caper genre.

Published in the Canberra Times on 6 September 2025.  Jane’s reviews are also published on Rotten Tomatoes