? What do you do when you have too much time on your hands? Solve a cold murder case, of course. An on-screen adaptation of Richard Osman’s novel of the same name, Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club follows a tight-knit group of retired seniors who’ve chosen unsolved murders as their hobby of choice — and they won’t stop for anything until they get some answers.

A real life Scooby gang. Comprising Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), the group convenes every Thursday to tackle one cold case at a time. One week, the pseudo-investigators find themselves at a dead end with the not-so-cleverly named The Woman In White Who Fell Out The Window case. Following a serendipitous encounter with Joyce (Celia Imrie), a retired war nurse, Elizabeth enlists her aid to identify the victim’s cause of death, and Joyce is happy to oblige, promptly joining the club and becoming its de-facto second-in-command, leading the pack alongside Elizabeth.

It’s not real until it is. The club’s murder expertise is put to the test when their retirement home’s shareholders start dropping dead one after another. When plans to turn the estate into a luxury residential compound that would see everyone evicted begin spreading, the senior residents — with no exception — are livid. A young owner is immediately placed under the spotlight as the murderer, but the suspicion doesn’t last long on account of him being the next victim.

No shady path left untrodden. In their quest to find answers, our senior friends exert every effort — lawful or otherwise — to gain control of the investigation. From bribing officers with cake to blackmailing grave diggers — and sometimes straight up perjury —, there’s not much they won’t do. As the two-hour movie progresses, more twists and turns are thrown in the audience’s direction, with the final act succeeding in seeing our jaws dropped — but that’s all we’ll say.

It’s the Hellen Mirren show, and everyone else is just following her lead. Every single cast member excels in their role, with Mirren stealing the spotlight. The veteran English actress is undoubtedly the star of every scene she’s in, and her character’s interactions with her husband (Jonathan Pryce), were some of our favorite scenes in the movie.

The Thursday Murder Club, connotations aside, is a comfort film at heart. The film offers a new take on a genre haunted by tropes and clichés. Despite being an already long film, we wish it had been longer, or perhaps restructured as a limited series. If you’ve been on the hunt for a family friendly watch that’ll still have you on the edge of your seat, look no further.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can stream The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix. Catch the trailer on YouTube (runtime: 2:14).

Tags: