Murder by Decree – Review

A historical late 1800’s London setting with gorgeous buildings and costumes hides a nefarious string of brutal murders behind billows of creepy fog. As Whitechapel faces more unsolved murders, Inspector Foxborough (Hemmings) finally drags Sherlock Holmes (Plummer) and Watson (Mason) into the mix, as the London district is desperate for resolve.

Murder by Decree is a slow-paced investigation of the famous Jack the Ripper killings. A sharp investigative pairing of Sherlock and Watson proves to be a match for this strange mystery full of suspects and uncertain clues. As Sherlock gets a bit of help from a possible psychic Robert Lees (Sutherland), he is put in the path of Mary Kelly (Clark) and Annie Crook (Bujold), two women with ties to the victims.

The plot takes known historical information and mixes up a famous fictional detective, however the results work quite well. It is an exploration of London’s history focusing on street working women, the poorer classes, Freemasons, the rich and powerful, as well as royalty.

The setting looks great and the film is very moody with smog, creeping shadows and terrorizing visuals at times, which is well balanced out by the strong, confident and competent main character pairing. Holmes is portrayed in a classical sense, and is an intelligent and resourceful investigator. Watson is a grounded and useful partner. The pair’s methodical dissection of clues and crime scenes feels natural and they work off each other well. If anyone can help London solve this issue, it’s Sherlock Holmes. Watch out for his scarf.

If you can handle a slower moving story, Murder by Decree is a strong yet creepy affair. The moody crawl is totally worth the journey, and features some very interesting takes on the historical events.