By Erin Free
MR. HOLMES (2015) In this under-appreciated gem, Ian McKellen delivers a majestic performance as iconic fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. A fascinating take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous creation, the film sees McKellen play a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes, whose constantly probing mind is now hopelessly fragmented and beset by the horrors of old age. He lives his life quietly and in seclusion, communicating principally with his housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her young son (Milo Parker). But as he revisits the circumstances of the case that forced him into retirement, the once great Sherlock Holmes creakily springs back into action. Perfectly cast, McKellen mixes the character’s famous prickly intelligence with a profound sense of longing and regret. “Sherlock Holmes wasn’t a real person, but you rather feel that he was,” McKellen offered to FilmInk, and his wonderfully human performance certainly adds to the feeling.
EMILE (2003) Though little seen and barely released, this low budget Canadian drama boasts a characteristically fine performance from Ian McKellen, who is gifted with a full-bodied character dealing with a raging sea of diverse emotions. McKellen’s title character is a British-educated academic who returns to his Canadian homeland, where he attempts to salve the wounds of his past and reunite with his distant family. He is a deeply haunted man, and McKellen does a superb job of instilling Emile with just the right mix of pathos and pain, as he rediscovers his identity in a curiously moving way. “Emile has a second chance to put right the wrongs of his earlier life,” McKellen has said of the role. “That was an initial appeal of the story for me.”
GODS & MONSTERS (1998) In director Bill Condon’s Gods And Monsters, Ian McKellen masterfully plays the aged film director, James Whale (most famous for thirties-era horror films like Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, and The Invisible Man), who spends his last days mooning over his handsome young gardener (Brendan Fraser), as the film flashes back to the creation of his greatest work, 1935’s The Bride Of Frankenstein. Directed with astute sensitivity, the film was a critical darling, and even made a splash at the Oscars, picking up three nominations, including one for McKellen’s bravura performance. His James Whale is a crafty, funny, sad, and frustrating figure. “I knew nothing about James Whale until I started reading about him for the film and meeting some of his old friends,” McKellen said of the role on his own website. “I admire his talent and his achievements as a film director and his honesty in being openly gay in the Hollywood of the 1950s…when honesty of that sort was not thought to be the best policy.”
APT PUPIL (1998) “I didn’t like my character,” Ian McKellen said of Apt Pupil. “He didn’t seem very deep. He just seemed a representative of evil.” The actor might disparage his character, but his performance in the film is truly stunning. Based upon the novella of the same name by Stephen King, Bryan Singer’s creepy and powerful Apt Pupil inventively explores the nature of evil, as twisted teen, Todd Bowen (the late Brad Renfro), develops a deeply troubling relationship with Kurt Dussander (McKellen), a WW2 Nazi war criminal he discovers living in his suburban neighbourhood. No repentant victim, Dussander regresses into a brutally fascistic state under Todd’s encouragement, and McKellen creates something truly reprehensible. Though the film now sits under a dark cloud of controversy (due to elements both and off screen), McKellen’s work here is beyond reproach.
RICHARD III (1995) In director, Richard Loncraine’s bracing, highly original take on William Shakespeare’s classic play, Ian McKellen (who also co-wrote the adaptation) electrifies in the title role. With the play’s original setting swapped for an ugly, brutal vision of a dystopian England under fascist rule, Richard III is a military leader who runs a fine line in Machiavellian scheming, underhanded strategy, and murder…even of his own family members. Supremely intelligent, ruthlessly charming, and completely unstoppable, McKellen’s read on Shakespeare’s great villain is ingenious and unforgettable. “We are rather on his side and find him rather beguiling,” McKellen said of the character. “And hopefully halfway through the story, we think to ourselves, ‘Oh crikey, what am I doing being on the side of this man and wanting him to succeed?’”
McKellen: Playing The Part is released in cinemas on September 27.
