Bill Condon is pulling another actor from a previous award winning project of his for the Sherlock Holmes film A SLIGHT TRICK OF THE MIND. Ian McKellen was already locked in to play an aged Sherlock in the adaptation of Mitch Cullin’s novel. Now Laura Linney is joining the cast in a major role. McKellen previously worked with Condon on the great film GODS AND MONSTERS where he played FRANKENSTEIN director James Whale. Linney worked with Condon on the Liam Neeson flick KINSEY as well as last year’s THE FIFTH ESTATE.
A SLIGHT TRICK OF THE MIND will take Holmes fans to a different place than the current series ELEMENTARY and SHERLOCK as it will focus on a much older Holmes without Watson.
Centering on the later years in the fictional Holmes’ life, when he retired to Sussex to keep bees, as Doyle’s stories suggested. Mrs. Munro (Linney) serves as something of a caretaker, albeit one with a young son Holmes takes a parental interest in. The story focuses on Holmes grappling with old age and dementia, while remaining obsessed with one unsolved case. It will toggle between decades, depicting Holmes both at age 91 and 63, when he’s working on his final case.
I love the character of Sherlock Holmes and I think Ian McKellen is perfectly cast. Linney is a great actress and this should be a very intriguing alternative to Guy Ritchie‘s insane SHERLOCK HOLMES as well as a very stark contrast to the two television series on the air. Condon may have burned some bridges with fans after directing TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, but he still has proven he has the chops to handle strong dramatic material. Hopefully this movie comes sooner rather than later.