The Mystery of Mr E

I'm not usually into musicals, but the storyline of this film engrossed me completely. The police officers were one of the (many) highlights for me throughout the film - especially Sergeant Wilderspin portrayed by the fantastic Barton Mills. If any sequels or spinoffs are made, I hope he is able to be part of it! 100% recommend.

The mystery behind the identity of "Mr E" was also brilliantly executed, as was each of the Generalists perfectly playing off each other.

It reminded me heavily of 'Knives Out', but with its own distinct twists and turns that cleans up any doubt about it being a copy - it is without a doubt a tremendous film in its own right.

When the story begins, we see adult male twins in clothing that looks like it's from the 1920s. They're visited by a guy dressed in a suit that looks like early 1960s. Later a man says his mother died in 2014. In what year is this taking place? Did the twins just get home from auditioning for an am/dram production of "Newsies?" The twins have zero body fat. They also have zero charisma. I assume they were hired simply because they are cute twins. I also assume they're models because they are incredibly wooden when they move or speak, and when they're still, they are so carefully posed. Hands in the pockets? Arms are bent at a perfect 90 degrees. Drinking tea? Posed with the cup for that perfect print ad shot. And the twin with the suspenders looks like he's constantly trying to flex under his shirt. It's distracting. Especially when they talk, because they deliver their dialogue like they're afraid to move their facial muscles at all for fear of creating wrinkles. They're too young to be acting like Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous ("I can't smile like that! I can't afford the wrinkles!") And they can't sing. No one can sing in this alleged musical. Actually the only person with any life or talent is the actress playing the dead woman. What seemed like it would be an interesting experiment, a kind of Agatha-Christie-meets-Gilbert-&-Sullivan production, doesn't work at all. The story is nothing but cumbersome exposition set to music that never develops beyond the first few bars, but becomes a repetitive refrain. And all the bad singing. I had to give up after 40 minutes because life is too short. It's a mystery to me how this got to the production stage because it definitely feels like a workshop piece that needs a lot of work before it's ready. And I mean a LOT of work.

At Idlewild house Harriet Landrigan wrote the world's most successful romantic novels. One day she tells her lifelong publisher that she will continue to write the books but none can ever be published, even read. She later mysteriously dies in a terrible accident. Sometime later Harriet's brother Martin invited the famous Danes brothers, who call themselves 'The Generalists' to Idlewild. Before they go they get a strange visit from a Mr E who tells them he knows they're going to Idlewild and that he is a murderer. Soon after they arrive a guest at the house is indeed murdered - can The Generalists solve the crime.

Apparently this was originally a school play and indeed much of it seems to still be being staged there - this has no cinematic pretensions whatsoever. Whilst it does from certain angles possess a degree of childlike charm on the whole it is pretty feeble stuff. Most of the endless exposition is pretty much all sung (badly) and the whodunnit resolutions uncovering the deaths and Mr E's involvement are entirely underwhelming. You could cope with the cast not being able to sing, but acting seems to present a similar challenge and in fact only Nicola Wright seems capable of doing both. Quirky certainly and with some little charm but mostly not good.

I'm giving this film five stars simply because it is unique and creative. A low budget musical murder mystery is quite an idea.

But the unfortunate downside is that it's just not very good. My wife and I were convinced it was a parody for this first 45 minutes. And I do think it is played this way to an extent. But I do think they meant it in an earnest way.

I really enjoyed the film, I'm not the biggest musical fan, but it was nice to see something different from the 'norm' and that had such a warm feeling to it.

It's shot really nicely and has a feel of a timeless cosy English mystery.

My stand out characters were Mr E, Anders and the police officers. In particular, Inspector Coode's song about being anosmic and his subsequent exasperation with the unfurling events were particular comedic highlights. In fact there were plenty of comic moments throughout which kept things light as the mystery progressed.

A pleasant ninety minutes spent, recommended.