It was years ago that I first read the short story by Stephen King in his book Nightmares & Dreamscapes. I remembered loving the twist Stephen had put Holmes and Watson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved characters, in.
Stephen King has a magical way of writing characters that are unique and stand out in the mind's eye. Many moviemakers have tried to capture this on the big and small screen and either they hit it on spot and bring the magic to life, or they fall short, failing to ignite even a spark. I am happy to say that this movie is the former and it was like watching imagery Stephen's writing created in my mind's eye come to life on screen.
The incredible talent both on and off the screen breaths life into this fun homage where Dr. Watson takes center stage, a role shared by William B. Davis and Michael Coleman, older and younger respectively, is clear from the start.
James Douglas takes the bones of the story and gives it the perfect finishing touch by adding in story plot that brings it to a whole new level. I enjoyed it more having the elderly Watson telling the tale to his nurse, Captain Norton played by the enchanting Denise Crosby, during a WWII bombing raid lockdown at the same location the story takes place many years earlier. It was the touch of humanity needed to bring this to screen in the way it deserved. And J.P. Winslow will now be listed among some of my favorite actors that have taken the challenge of bringing Sherlock Holmes to life and accomplished it with skill and intelligence.
This project is currently under the Dollar Baby contract set up by King himself to give aspiring filmmakers the change to make adaptions of his work, but without the commercial abilities of mainstream projects, means you can only watch this movie at a local festival near you that it may be appearing in. I hope that one day King will grant commercial rights and we can see it on the big screen in regular theaters, but also on Blu-ray to be enjoyed time and time again.
