This is an adaptation of a series of best-selling books by Richard Osman about a group of retired, British professionals, middle-aged or elderly, who solve murders. There's a reference to Agatha Christie here. Christie was an author who wrote about middle-aged or elderly people solving murders. One of her most iconic was Miss Marple. Osman's book supposes that instead of one Miss Marple, what if there were four of Miss Marple or Miss Marple types. In the United States, a lot of people might be able to point to Murder, She Wrote (1984), as the ultimate example of an old person investigating the titular felony. Yet, that show centered on one old person and it was more of a drama. The best comparison to what this film, directed by Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Home Alone), is doing is comparing it to Only Murders in the Building (2021), a comedy series about two middle-aged protagonists who solve crimes that occur in the place where they live. Columbus embraces that same tone and vibe but merely doubles the protagonist count.
Helen Mirren (Barbie and The Queen) stars as Elizabeth Best, a pensioner who used to work for the government. When asked what her job in the government was, she says, "international affairs." Her immediate circle of friends dismiss it, but any one who is familiar with certain government jobs will know what that means. She is retired and she lives in a large estate, which looks like it was a small castle, called Coopers Chase in England, just outside London. Coopers Chase is a retirement home or community for the elderly, which includes hospice care. The place has a lot of relaxing activities, but Elizabeth isn't content to just sit around doing relaxing things. She's a part of a club of four residents who investigate cold cases of murders that happened way back in the past.
Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia! and GoldenEye) co-stars as Ron Ritchie, another pensioner who used to work as a trade unionist. He's used to organizing labor or even organizing protests against big companies or industries. This comes in handy because he learns that Coopers Chase is being sold to a developer who wants to kick out all of the elderly residents and build luxury condominiums. Ron puts it upon himself to organize the residents of Coopers Chase and try to protest this development, as well as all of them losing their beautiful retirement home.
Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3 and Gandhi) also co-stars as Ibrahim Arif, a pensioner who used to work as a psychiatrist. Of the four people in Elizabeth's club, he's the one with the least to do. His former job also doesn't really have any usefulness or relevance in the narrative, unlike the others. In terms of investigating the crimes, he barely contributes anything. He's said to have been helpful with interviewing suspects and eliminating them from suspicion, but the film doesn't show us his efforts. Therefore, Ibrahim becomes a wasted character and Kingsley's talents aren't put to their best use.
Celia Imrie (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Bridget Jones's Diary) also co-stars as Joyce, a pensioner who used to work as a nurse. She's new to Elizabeth's club. Joyce joins as the new fourth member after the old fourth member went into hospice care and is in a coma. Her skills as a nurse come in handy for not only solving crimes but also when others in real-life require medical attention. Joyce also has a daughter who comes in handy in terms of getting a hold of information that Elizabeth might need to put the pieces of her club's case together. Otherwise, Joyce is a very sweet and lovely woman who enjoys baking cakes. Speaking of which, Joyce's relationship with her daughter is a source of tension in the film, but Columbus doesn't do much more with it besides a bit of dialogue about how the daughter is too busy to visit her mother at Coopers Chase.
This contrasts with Ron's son, Jason Ritchie, played by Tom Ellis (Lucifer and Miranda), a former boxer who is also retired due to an injury but who has become a celebrity on TV, doing all kinds of reality television. Unlike Joyce's daughter, Jason comes to visit his father at Coopers Chase fairly regularly. As such, we do get more insight into the relationship between Ron and Jason. Ron is very proud of his son's accomplishments as a boxer, but since Jason retired, he's tried to move on with his life but Ron won't let go of his son's glory days, which makes Jason a little annoyed. Since losing his boxing career, Jason has racked up some debts, so he got involved with the owners of Coopers Chase, but when those owners suddenly die, Jason becomes a prime suspect.
Naomi Ackie (Mickey 17 and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody) plays Donna de Freitas, a police officer who comes to visit Coopers Chase and befriends Elizabeth and her club. She's aspiring to be a detective, but the other police detectives don't really respect her. She particularly clashes with DCI Chris Hudson, played by Daniel Mays (A Thousand Blows and Franklin) who isn't a bumbling fool, but he does underestimate Donna, as well as the pensioners. He's at times overt with his ageism, both toward the old and young. Naomi sees the benefit of bridging that aging gap, while Chris Hudson doesn't. Any enjoyment here comes from how the old people are able to get more accomplished than the younger people, including the police with fewer resources and all from the comfort of their retirement home. It's amusing to see them in action, even though Mirren gets the lion share of that action.
Rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, strong language and some sexual references.
Running Time: 2 hrs.
Available on Netflix.