Sherlock Holmes remains the most frequently adapted literary character. Over the course of a century of cinema, fans of Arthur Conan Doyle have seen a wide variety of interpretations of their favourite detective, ranging from strictly classical to refreshingly postmodern.
Holmes and Watson
Ever since Conan Doyle’s time, the Holmes and Watson duo has required a certain balance of character traits.
The former must be smarter than the latter, whilst the doctor, in turn, should admire the intellect of his colleague and neighbour. ‘Holmes & Watson’ completely abandons the classic dynamic and portrays both as dimwits and almost Victorian clowns.
Will Ferrell as Holmes and John C. Reilly as Watson – a duo straight out of the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ series, where both are full of crude gags.
The characters are a mess: they eat raw onions, dissect a body smeared with cream, and swat away a swarm of bees, completely trashing their den. It is clear that for Ferrell, an American actor, Sherlock himself is not a sacred icon but a malleable character. The film offers crude answers to questions such as who Holmes tests his poisons on, why Sherlock and Watson share such a special bond of friendship, and what Her Majesty thinks of the detective.
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Young Sherlock Holmes
It’s hard to believe, but Holmes too had a youth – turbulent and emotional in its own way. Director Barry Levinson and screenwriter Chris Columbus decided to cast their net into the distant past, presenting Sherlock as a young student who meets Watson at college and takes on his first serious case – an investigation into the ‘Rame Tep’ cult, whose members practise ritual murders and are somehow connected to their alma mater.
Nicholas Rowe was 18 when he played the young Sherlock – the film explains why the hot-headed, romantic but invariably resourceful detective would make solitude and reserve his lifelong creed – naturally, due to the disappointments of youth.
From the film – which is fantastical and at times reminiscent of the ‘Harry Potter’ universe – it is not entirely clear what makes Row’s character specifically Sherlock, apart from the beginnings of a deductive method, walks with a magnifying glass and brilliant fencing skills (something Conan Doyle always drew attention to).
Not a Single Clue
‘Not a Single Clue’ is one of the most original interpretations, completely turning the legend of Sherlock Holmes on its head. Now he is not a detective, but merely an alcoholic actor playing the role of the great detective for the public. Tom Eberhardt’s film completely shifts the perspective, turning Dr Watson (Ben Kingsley) into the intellectual hero, whilst reducing Holmes himself to a drunken, dim-witted street character who tags along on other people’s investigations. Michael Caine played a pseudo-Holmes, a London impostor who speaks with a Cockney accent and lives in Watson’s shadow.
Sherlock
Transposing the events of Conan Doyle’s works to modern-day London was a key bold move by showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, makes active use of a mobile phone and other gadgets, whilst the detective’s thought process is depicted through a journey into the recesses of the mind. Holmes and Watson (Martin Freeman) meet again at Mrs Hudson’s (Una Stubbs) flat. Their first case together is the investigation of a series of mysterious suicides.
