Il club dei delitti del giovedì

Greetings again from the darkness. This is the type of movie that almost begs to be criticized, while at the same time, deserves to be enjoyed for being exactly what it tries to be. Author Richard Osman now has five books in this series, and the first has been adapted by co-writers Katy Brand (GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE, 2022) and Suzanne Heathcote ("Fear the Walking Dead"). It's directed by Chris Columbus, known for HOME ALONE (1990), MRS DOUBTFIRE (1993) and a couple of the Harry Potter movies. These are professionals who know how to entertain ... and just as importantly, they know how to cast.

Take two Oscar winners, a former James Bond, a few British acting stalwarts, and add in a stunning English countryside manor and a murder mystery, and the result is low-key, crowd-pleasing entertainment (even if it panders a bit to its target audience). The setting is Cooper Chase, a scrumptious estate serving as a much-desired retirement home. Hobbies among the residents include the expected crafts, archery, crosswords, sudoku, jigsaw puzzling, and various committees. The most unusual is the Thursday Murder Club, where Elizabeth (Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren), Ron (former 007 Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley) meet up to discuss an open police case provided by Elizabeth's now comatose ex-cop friend.

It doesn't take long for new resident Joyce (Celia Imrie, THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, 2011) to be accepted into the club, where her nursing experience perfectly complements the diverse skills of former union leader Ron, former psychiatrist Ibrahim, and the mysteriously clever Elizabeth (whose background takes a while to come to light). Greedy owner Ian Ventham (David Tennant) wants to transition the home into luxury condos, and this irritates the residents while putting a spotlight on the other two owners, Tony Curran (Geoff Bell) and Bobby Tanner (Richard E Grant).

When the murder occurs, the TMC springs into action with a "real" case. If they can solve it, they may even save Cooper Chase for all residents. The story unfolds in the manner of most whodunits, and our attention is on the main characters as well as others who come into play: Stephen (Jonathan Pryce) is Elizabeth's dementia-stricken husband, DCI Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays) doesn't appreciate the talents of TMC, while his assistant, Officer Donna de Freitas (Naomie Ackie) certainly does.

The clues, the research, and the disclosure of mastermind Elizabeth's past are all fun to watch, and Joyce's obsession with baking fancy cakes provides a necessary distraction at times. Fifteen-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman provides the score, and we also get a bit of T Rex ("Bang a Gong"), a Springsteen 'The River' t-shirt, and a finale featuring an on-the-nose Cat Stevens' "Oh Very Young". One blink and you'll miss it one-liner occurs when Stephen tells his wife, "You look like the Queen". Gray cinema murder mystery is definitely having a moment thanks to "Only Murders in the Building", the "Matlock" reboot, and the recently announced reboot of "Murder She Wrote." It's interesting to note that Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Geoff Bell were all key players in the recent "MobLand", a much darker limited series. I'm sure Dame Helen Mirren is enjoying the resurgence ... just don't call her "feisty".

Opens on Netflix beginning August 28, 2025.

If they continue with the other books, they need to make them a series. This movie had everything it needed to be a standout, except a good script. Even if I hadn't read the books I think it would feel rushed. There's just no real build up to the solution. It's very abrupt. Looking at the credits for the 2 writers it's not surprising the script is subpar. Neither has written anything outstanding. Having read the books it's even worse. To fit the limited time frame they made too many changes and oversimplified the plot. Additionally, with a murder mystery series you have to take time to build the characters and their relationships. With this type of mystery, 2 hours just isn't enough time to do either. I was left wondering if they spent too much of the budget on the cast and didn't have enough left to do justice to the story. I'm hoping they learn from the mistake and make the next one a series, or at least a much longer movie. With the one killer saying it was an accident, they could still do a course correction to include the character in the future as is done in the books. But looking at the ratings they may not continue at all. I'll never understand why Hollywood does this. They secure the rights to a popular book with a built in audience and then proceed to alienate that audience by not sticking to the source material. How does that make sense?

Enjoyable, but this film leaves too little time to get to know the characters. A series with one season per book would have been fabulous. I am in doubt whether Pierce Brosnan was a good casting for Ron, but Mirren, Kingsley and Imrie were spot on. The result is watchable, but I highly recommend you to read the books, they are splendid.

I have to be honest, I was expecting something much closer in content to the book, and the changes were not, in my opinion, for the better. That said, it was acted well, with the exception of Pierce Brosnan's 'cockney' accent. (It was all over the place!) If there is to be a sequel (and I hope there is), I look forward to the characters being developed as they are in the books. Bogdan included!

Excellent cast. The film starts off perfectly, and I immediately recognized the atmosphere of the book (The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman). The question I'd had ever since I heard this first novel would be adapted-"But can they really fit all that action into two hours? Because cutting out anything would chip away at the magic..."-was still buzzing in my head, though more faintly now, sulking in a corner.

But slowly, as the story speeds up and large chunks of the plot vanish, and even a character is completely changed for the worse (leaving me wondering: how will the next adaptations look without him?), that buzzing returns triumphantly. The ending leaves a sensation similar to the one where the ground is ripped out from under your feet, leaving you breathless for a moment and with the question: was that all?

This tale deserved to be told as a faithful miniseries; as a film, it feels like a missed opportunity, despite a cast that truly deserved.