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Have you ever seen the meme of an old British lady called Brenda shouting into a street microphone: “You’re joking… not another one? Oh for God’s sake, I can’t stand this.” Well, that’s how I feel about adaptations of Sherlock Holmes.
After Benedict Cumberbatch took the role on in the self-titled BBC series, I didn’t think that the fictional detective could be bested. However, new Prime Video series Young Sherlock has proved me wrong. We leave the comfortable familiarity of 221b Baker Street behind for Sherlock’s (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) younger years, following his antics at Oxford University when brother Mycroft (Max Irons) gets him a job as a porter after a brief prison stint.
There, he meets eventual enemy Moriarty (Dónal Finn), together working to uncover a mystery that intimately involves Sherlock’s family, especially his sly dad Silas (Joseph Fiennes). In a nutshell, it’s the Holmes family as we’ve never seen them before.
Sherlock’s stale story gets an electric revamp — think Peaky Blinders meets Fight Club
Watch On
The first rule of Fight Club is not to talk about fight club, but I’ll be recommending Young Sherlock to anybody who will listen. When I first watched the above trailer, I didn’t really understand the show’s intended motive. Why make something about teen Sherlock who seemingly likes punching people as much as he enjoys reading books?
Now I’ve seen the series, I see how surface-level the trailer actually is, and perhaps the fact so much has been withheld is the sign of a trailer well done. Understanding what made the man is at the key of the Prime Video show, turning him from an aloof intellectual prodigy into a vulnerable young man full of emotion, care, and reason.
The elephant in the room is Sherlock’s mother and sister, reimagined as Cordelia Holmes (Natascha McElhone) and Beatrice, who we see in flashbacks. While Enola Holmes went in a different direction, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books make little mention of Sherlock’s family, meaning creatively, they’re there for the taking.
Cordelia is the key to understanding Sherlock’s mind, with Tiffin’s leading man prepared to lay down his life to protect her. Their minds work in the same way, and they’re as enthused by the adventures and dangers of life as each other. They are kindred spirits, and yin and yang who fit lovingly together in a world that doesn’t want to understand them.
Sherlock’s relationship with Moriarty has drastically changed too. Instead of fiery villains, the pair are more like The Chuckle Brothers of the detective game. In hindsight, it’s a shame to think that this connection ever changed, and perhaps with time, Young Sherlock can reinvent that. For now, the impeccable double act is a refreshing as a cool glass of water.
Young Sherlock’s firing on all cylinders, from script to set design
The Gentlemen and MobLand taught us that Ritchie knows how to pack a punch on the small screen, and with a bigger studio budget comes bigger risk-taking. In Young Sherlock, they all pay off, taking us cross-continental on a journey across Constantinople, Oxford and the Parisian streets of the French Revolution.
These are all big set pieces, with my favorite in particular a trip to the Folies Bergère cabaret hall in episode 6, complete with every bombastic detail you could imagine. It’s this sense of well-rounded craft that elevates the entire production, having through through the broadest scope to the most insignificant prop.
A special shoutout must be made to the theme tune, which is a compliment I seldom get to give these days. If the scenes played prior to its use haven’t got you pumped up, you’ll be wanting to throw yourself into a detective-filled mosh pit by the time it’s over.
The stellar performances, the whistle-stop pace and dialogue being flawlessly executed at a million miles a minute are a heady mix. Sherlock’s ‘mind palace’ is shown in a completely new light, with action sequences never committed to half-heartedly.
It’s shows like Young Sherlock that rejuvenate your excitement about what TV can achieve, the impressive direction entertainment and design can collectively take. As far as I’m concerned, throw all the money at Ritchie that he wants if he keeps producing projects as dazzling as this.
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