Imagine a murder happens three decades ago. It turns into a cold case, only to resurface later, leading to two more murders and sending the police into a spiral. Or perhaps it makes more sense if the murders are driven by love—carried out by a person who loves another so much they cannot bear to lose them.
Well, these are my thoughts after I watched The Thursday Murder Club (2025), a British crime-comedy and a murder mystery that features iconic actors like Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley. This murder mystery is actually based on a bestseller novel of the same name written by Richard Osman.
Directed by Chris Columbus, this movie presents three vibrant and funny pensioners who love to meet every Thursday in the Jigsaw room of Cooper's Chase, a retirement home, to solve cold cases for the fun of it. They are: Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley). As they discuss the case of Angela Hughes, referred to as the “woman in white”, Joyce, another resident showing her daughter around the place, barges in.
Joyce is fascinated by the murder board the three seniors attempt to hide. Meanwhile her daughter expresses concern about Joyce's stay in the retirement home and wishes to move her elsewhere. Joyce insists on staying and is soon approached by Elizabeth to join them in solving the case since she was once a trauma nurse. While these four try to solve the case, they witness Ian Ventham and Tony Curran, owners of Cooper's Chase, argue about whether to sell the entire estate or not.
The next day, Tony Curran, one of the owners, is found dead in his house. Ian becomes a prime suspect because of their argument and the millions he stands to gain from the property on the death of his partner. When Ian arrives with his construction crew to begin digging the cemetery, the seniors of Cooper's Chase raise their placards and protest the sale of the property.
In this ruckus, Ian falls dead to the ground, throwing the people and police into confusion. Who is killing these people and why? Is there any connection to Cooper's Chase?
My Review And Rating
I enjoy murder mysteries at any time of the day and this one exceeded my expectations. I'll admit, I had my doubts at first when I saw the poster featuring seniors like Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan playing amateur detectives. I don't mind comedy but in something as serious as a murder mystery, I wasn't sure they would pull it off. I was wrong.
These actors are so good in their roles as amateur detectives, it's convincing. I think bringing these top tier actors into this movie gave it some popularity and interest. Even if you are not a fan of murder mysteries, you'd want to watch this one because of these actors. I think that's a smart move on Chris Columbus part.
The plot of this movie is intriguing and put me on the edge of my seat as any gripping whoddunit would. The acting and pacing are smooth also. I have not read the book or any of the sequels so I can't comment on whether this adaptation is great. The clues are scattered in such a way that I didn't immediately figure out the culprits until almost the end of the movie. So that's a plus for the filmmaker.
Also, I love how ‘the club’ worked together to achieve their aim, especially Elizabeth and Joyce. There are scenes where I actually laughed out loud at their funny remarks and acting. These characters smartly use their age to project vulnerability which helps them get their way throughout the movie. In reality, these people are old and expected to appear frail, even cognitively slow, but instead they are lively and we see they running around trying to solve a murder. One would wonder why they are in retirement home in the first place.
The visuals of the movie is nice and attractive in my opinion. The setting is modern and bearable. The way Cooper’s Chase is presented, I almost didn't believe it's a retirement home. It looks like a fine resort with the lovely decor, lush greenery and fields around it.
Rating this movie, I will give it 7 out 10 stars because the mystery is well done, the visuals are attractive and calming, and the banter holds its own. Who knew that a place as quiet as a retirement home could attract murders?
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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