“The Thursday Murder Club” Provides a Cozy Mystery

A year and a half ago, my book club opted to read The Thursday Murder Club, a mystery novel by Richard Osman about a group of retirees who dedicate their free time to solving cold cases. When someone dies in their own neighborhood, the puzzles become personal. I admit I didn’t particularly enjoy the book—the weight of cozy mystery to actual clues to solve wasn’t balanced enough for me to fully invest. However, when I saw that Netflix released a movie adaptation starring Helen Mirren, I jumped at the opportunity to watch.

The story starts when Joyce (Celia Imrie) moves into a retirement home and meets the members of the Thursday Murder Club, Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley). Her arrival coincides with the news that the owners of Cooper’s Chase are planning on selling the entire community and kicking everyone out. The residents are irate, of course. The drama escalates when the only man with the power to stop the sale ends up murdered. From there, the Thursday Murder Club partners with police officer Donna (Naomi Ackie) to help solve the mystery.

Incredible Performances

Naomi Ackie has had an absolutely breakout past couple of years. She established herself as a household name with her work in Mickey 17 and Blink Twice, and Sorry, Baby. Although she is a supporting character in The Thursday Murder Club, her performance is as incredible as we’ve come to expect. She serves as both a grounding and humorous force, playing excellently against the intensity of the older characters. I truly believe she was perfectly cast and brought an X-factor to this film.

It wasn’t only Ackie who had a great performance Helen Mirren and Celia Imrie were brilliant in their roles as co-leads. It’s always fun to see older women get their time in the spotlight, and Mirren and Imrie are, as always, meant for that stardome. Mirren’s Elizabeth has a focus and determination that finds a home against Imrie’s Joyce, who tends to be a bit more all over the place while still executing when necessary.

A Reliable Adaptation

I cannot say this movie was any better than the book, but it is something that works better in a visual format. This is the perfect cozy movie, meant to provide drama without there ever being massive stakes for the main characters. There’s never a worry that something will go dramatically wrong. Instead, there’s murders that a group of retired elderly people with connections can solve. Everything will end well, and it’s entertaining to watch it happen.

For the most part, The Thursday Murder Club was a reliable adaptation of Osman’s novel. Most of the main plot points were hit, and I remember specific lines of dialogue that were repeated in the film.

However, those who were fans of Osman’s tangents (such as his description of Father Mackie) and side plots that added to the mystery in a longform medium, will be disappointed by the fact that they’re entirely left out of the film. This is a movie, not a limited series, and as a result most of the minor characters are either stripped out or their involvement is minimized. A couple of key points to solving the mystery are condensed for the sake of timing.

That being said, I think the essence of the characters was captured in a way that will be satisfying for lovers of the novel. The crucial parts are here, and nothing was changed so dramatically that it feels like a new story altogether. As a frequent “the book was better” extoller, this movie was well worth the watch. 

Themes

There are some serious topics that get touched on throughout the movie. A character is working in the United Kingdom illegally and is unable to visit his sick mother because the trafficker who brought him to the country has seized his passport. This is a serious problem both in the UK and the United States, where minimum wage (or lower) employees are essentially trapped and at the mercy of employers who don’t view them as human beings. I do wish the film had focused more on this. Instead, it seemed like a passing complaint on the part of Elizabeth. She was worried about murder, but all other crimes were just part of life. 

This was made more noticeable by the fact that Elizabeth clearly cares about right and wrong. That’s important to her as a human and defines so much of her life. The crimes she was able to overlook versus the ones she needed to pursue are fascinating and say a lot about the perspective of Osman and the filmmakers.

The Verdict

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