The Thursday Murder Club: Murder She Re-Wrote, With a Larger, Bigger Name Cast

By Karen Gordon

Rating: B 

You can assemble all the big-name talent ranging from the writer of the source material, to the producer, the director and of course, the cast, and still make an indifferent or even lousy movie.   

And that can be especially true when the film involves a cast feathering their retirement years. But, happily, Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club, is an example of the opposite.

It’s an easygoing, entertaining movie, boosted by its name cast.  And sure, it doesn’t ask much of its audience. But sometimes a well done movie-length TV mystery is enough. 

Dame Helen Mirren has a mystery to solve.

The film, based on Richard Osman’s  best-selling book, is directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, the first two Harry Potter movies)

Dame Helen Mirren is Elizabeth, who is living in a well appointed seniors community called Coopers Chase Retirement Village with her dementia stricken husband, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce).   

Coopers Chase is an impressive place, a former convent that looks like it might have once been a castle. The residents live in beautiful spaces. 

Along with two other community members, Ron Ritchie, a retired union activist (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim Arif (Sir Ben Kingsley), she’s part of the Thursday Murder Club, a group that meets weekly to try to solve cold cases.  

There was a fourth member, but she’s now in paliative care, in another wing of the residence. Elizabeth stops in to visit regularly.  Friendships count here. 

So the group invites a new resident to join, a recent widow and former nurse Joyce Meadowcroft (Celia Imrie). 

But things move from cold case to active when one of the owners of Cooper’s Chase is murdered. This is an unwelcome change for them: The residents discover a plan afoot, spearheaded by another owner Ian Ventham (David Tennant) to evict the residents and turn Cooper’s Chase into luxury apartments.  

And, being that this is a murder mystery, the body count rises.

So, the club members’ focus is split between solving the new murders and saving their home. They enlist Donna (Naomi Ackie), a young police officer to help them, allowing her to  hone her skills and build her confidence and reputation along the way. 

The cast also includes Tom Ellis as Ron’s son Jason, and Richard E. Grant as the mysterious Bobby Tanner.  

I haven’t read the book, but responses from people who have suggest that the film adapation leaves out a lot of complexity.  

That might be disappointing for fans of the book.  For sure, The Thursday Murder Club isn’t deep.  In many ways it plays like a longer episode of the venerable TV mystery series Murder She Wrote, with more characters in play. 

 It also both defies cliches and falls into some cliches about being a senior citizen.  

There is no question that the quality of the cast and what they put into their roles is a big part of what makes the film appealing.  It’s not going to challenge you, or leave you pondering the meaning of life. But it is a cozy and enjoyable watch, and sometimes that’s enough. 

The Thursday Murder Club. Directed by Chris Columbus. Stars Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Richard Pryce, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie. Now streaming on Netflix.