The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle

Fans of the Sherlock Holmes stories or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will be fascinated by the self-titled tv biopic. Douglas Henshall plays Doyle, and he starts the movie a famous and beloved author. However, he's plagued by his past, and he has a secret longing to find out if readers will still love him if he stops writing about Holmes.

I knew absolutely nothing about Doyle's life, I've never read a Holmes story, and I can count on one hand how many Holmes films I've seen. Don't throw anything at me, I'm just demonstrating how much I was able to learn from this movie. People who have read biographies of Doyle or know the Holmes stories well might not get as much out of it. I won't spoil things for my fellow ignorant viewers by telling any plot points, but I will praise the supporting cast for keeping up with Henshall. This is a pretty heavy movie, with tears and fears around every corner. Sinéad Cusak plays Doyle's mother, Saskia Reeves is his wife, and Tim McInnerny plays his biographer.

One word of caution I will give: this movie is pretty gruesome. There are random inserts of dismembered body parts, as parts of Doyle's stories or his fears coming to life. They're very gross, unnecessary, and jarring. So if you have a weak stomach, be prepared to hide behind a pillow.