From left: Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in a scene from “The Thursday Murder Club” (Netflix)
First of all, is this really what retirement looks like?
If so, perhaps we should all sign up. In “The Thursday Murder Club,” an amiable adaptation of Richard Osman’s mystery novel, the lucky retirees live in a home resembling Downton Abbey. The manor offers scrumptious food, fine wine, vast apartments, tasteful antiques, archery and life-drawing classes — and llamas as emotional support animals.
This is Coopers Chase, where four residents, led by Helen Mirren in her no-nonsense plaid blazers, depart from yoga and Sudoku to solve cold cases. Older sleuths outsmarting police is hardly new — think Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher in “Murder, She Wrote,” where hundreds of murders somehow took place in Cabot Cove.
Chris Columbus’ film doesn’t rack up such a body count, but its amateur detectives apply gusto. Mirren’s Elizabeth hints at an espionage past, Pierce Brosnan’s Ron is a former trade unionist, and Ben Kingsley’s Ibrahim a retired psychiatrist. They begin with a mysterious ’70s case, but soon recruit Joyce (Celia Imrie), a baker and ex-trauma nurse.
Joyce, thrilled to join, gets even more excited when an actual murder occurs — one of Coopers Chase’s co-owners. “Now we’ve got a real case to solve!” she gushes as “Disco Inferno” blares, dragging Ron from aqua aerobics. But it isn’t wonderful at all: the victim had promised to shield residents from another co-owner’s plans to demolish the home and build an event space. The shady Ian Ventham (David Tennant) even wants to relocate the cemetery. Ron rallies a protest — then another killing occurs.
Naomi Ackie is appealing as a police officer craving real work, while Daniel Mays is very funny as her inept boss. Yet the plot itself is not the film’s greatest pleasure. That comes from watching veterans strut their stuff, especially Mirren. (Kingsley, alas, gets few good lines.) Her best moment nods to her Oscar-winning turn as another Elizabeth: heading out incognito with Joyce, she dons a headscarf, cardigan, tartan skirt and walking stick. “You look like the Queen!” says her husband. “Do I?” she replies, cheekily.
But not every moment works. On a bus, Elizabeth asks Joyce what “WTF” means, prompting a loud, cutesy explanation. Are we to believe sharp Elizabeth has never encountered the term? Such moments risk turning the characters into caricatures. Columbus seems aware of the issue — Joyce even quips that she feels they’re in “one of those Sunday night dramas about feisty old lady detectives.” Elizabeth snaps back, telling her never to say it again.
Still, there’s poignancy grounding the comedy. Elizabeth’s husband, played movingly by Jonathan Pryce, is in early dementia. “Sometimes he’s his old self, and sometimes he’s just gone,” she confides. It’s a sobering reminder that even these vibrant protagonists live with precariousness. “Cherish the good moments,” a friend advises her.
That’s a worthy takeaway for the film itself. The script could be sharper, the comedy more clever. But for two hours on Netflix, Coopers Chase offers comfort, a few genuine laughs, and a reminder — however gently delivered — to treasure the time we have. JOCELYN NOVECK, MDT/AP
“The Thursday Murder Club,” a Netflix release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for violent content/bloody images, strong language and some sexual references.” Running time: 118 minutes. 
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