140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Plot sounds stupid, but the novel is a favorite of mine; very true to spirit of Holmes. Makes for good little film. Duvall is ridiculous…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution:
If I describe it to you, you’ll tune out: “Sherlock Holmes goes to Vienna to beat his cocaine addiction with the help of Sigmund Freud”. Preposterous. But in the execution of Nicholas Meyer’s novel, it turns out to be a charming little story, very in keeping with the style and spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.
Would have been interesting to see Meyer direct this, his screenplay based on his own novel, much as Michael Crichton did with The Great Train Robbery two years later. After all, Meyer would get the chance to direct several years later, with the similarly spirited Time After Time, before becoming the greatest director that the Star Trek series would ever see.
But Herbert Ross is a much more accomplished director and does his usual great work here, even if the deliberately soft picture is more of a cute affectation than a welcome “dating” of the story.
In truth, after watching this for the first time in many years, there is a deep drop-off after the 1st hour. The fascinating part of the story is in the set-up; the mystery Holmes is tasked with later on is not as engaging.
Interesting casting; Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson? He’s absurd. I have no objection to Americans playing Brits, but taking on a stiff-upper-lip Victorian is way out of his depth. Fantastic actor, but this one is just a poor fit – a total caricature. Alan Arkin, on the other hand, struggles and succeeds at keeping Freud from being a similar archetype. To some degree this is simply not possible, as the Viennese doctor is sort of hard to underplay, but he does give the character a vitality and edge that is unexpected and welcome. Williamson does a good job with the most thankless role of Sherlock. He plays the character exactly according to Hoyle (or Doyle, I suppose), taking no risks, but he does it well and handles the addiction storyline well.
Lastly, enjoy the Sondheim composition “I Never Do Anything Twice” from the brothel scene – good stuff!
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” description=”To treat his friend’s cocaine induced delusions, Watson lures Sherlock Holmes to Sigmund Freud.” director=”Herbert Ross” actor_1=”Nicol Williamson” ]
Poster:
Trailer:
http://youtu.be/CxzoWxT2E2Y
Bechdel Test:
FAIL
| Main Cast | Alan Arkin Dr. Sigmund Freud, Vanessa Redgrave Lola Deveraux, Robert Duvall Dr. John H. Watson/Narrator, Nicol Williamson Sherlock Holmes |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Thu 02 Jun 1977 UTC |
| Director | Herbert Ross |
| Genres | Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Plot | To treat his friend’s cocaine induced delusions, Watson lures Sherlock Holmes to Sigmund Freud. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 113 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | Arthur Conan Doyle (characters), Nicholas Meyer (novel) |
| Year | 1976 |