JEDDAH: Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club” book series about four elderly people in a retirement home investigating cold (and then still-warm) is the epitome of the hugely popular ‘cozy crime’ genre: intriguing cases and ingenious plots, gentle comedy, a romanticized vision of a picturesque England, likeable characters, and a serious feelgood factor.
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Osman’s own celebrity standing — plus his impressive sales figures — meant this inevitable adaptation was able to attract top-quality talent both behind and before the camera too. With Chris Columbus (who helmed the first two “Harry Potter” films) as director, and Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as the titular crime fighters (as well as David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Richard E. Grant and more in support), it’s hard to see how this could miss. And it doesn’t. It stays largely true to Osman’s book, and absolutely nails the cozy crime spirit.
Mirren is at her imperious best as the smartest-person-in-any-room former spook Elizabeth Best; Kingsley perfectly captures the vulnerability and fierce intellect of retired psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif; Brosnan impresses as rough diamond Ron Ritchie, a former trade union leader; and Imrie is as adorable as fans of the books would’ve hoped as ex-nurse with hidden depths Joyce Meadowcroft.
