Miramax and Roadside Attractions have just debuted the first teaser poster from the upcoming Mr. Holmes via Sir Ian McKellen’s Twitter feed. McKellen stars as an aging Sherlock Holmes opposite fellow Academy Award nominee Laura Linney (Kinsey, You Can Count on Me).
The film, based on the novel “A Slight Trick of the Mind” by Mitch Cullin (Tideland), was adapted for the screen by Jeffrey Hatcher (The Duchess, Stage Beauty) and begins in 1947 when an aging Holmes returns from Japan, where, in search of a plant with powerful restorative qualities, he has witnessed the devastation of nuclear warfare. Now in his remote seaside farmhouse Holmes faces the end of his days tending to his bees with only the company of his housekeeper (Linney) and her young son, Roger. Grappling with the diminishing powers of his mind, Holmes comes to rely upon the boy as he revisits an unsolved case which forced him into retirement, and searches for answers to the mysteries of life and love before it’s too late.
The film marks a reunion between McKellen and director Bill Condon after 1998’s Gods and Monsters, with an additional cast that includes Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Roger Allam, Philip Davis, Frances de la Tour and Milo Parker. Although a specific release date has not yet been announced, Mr. Holmes is expected in theaters this summer.
