When Richard Osman’s debut novel The Thursday Murder Club was first published in 2020, it took the world by storm. Breaking UK sales records, it brought the world of cosy crime to the mainstream. Subsequent titles have built up on this success with the four books in the series now having sold over 10 million copies. When the Netflix original movie was announced in 2024, it had fans, old and new, eagerly awaiting the chance to see their favourite pensioners solving crimes on the little screen.
The cast of The Thursday Murder Club (Courtesy Netflix)
With a star-studded cast of Dame Helen Mirren (Elizabeth), Pierce Brosnan (Ron), Ben Kingsley (Ibrahim), and Celia Imrie (Joyce), this movie was set to be one of the most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations in recent years. Also adding to the excitement was the news that Chris Columbus of Harry Potter fame would be directing this adventure of four pensioners in cardigans and tweed coats getting their sleuth on.
400pp, ₹599; Penguin
Set in Cooper’s Chase, a retirement community, the movie opens with Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim going over the latest case of their Thursday Murder Club. When they stumble upon a medical obstacle, they turn to Joyce. An ex-nurse who just moved in, she is overeager to help them. But when one of the co-owners of Cooper’s Chase is found killed in his house, they get their first live case to solve. As the narrative unfolds, the viewers get entangled in the goings on of a quaint British village where there’s a mystery behind every closed door.
The star-studded cast is probably the biggest highlight of the film. With her standoffish authority and wit,.Helen Mirren brings Elizabeth from the books alive in her entirety; Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley do justice to Ron and Ibrahim, respectively, while Celia Imrie adds a touch of lightness with her portrayal of Joyce. Filmed at Englefield Estate in Berkshire, Cooper’s Chase comes alive as a picture-perfect postcard town.
And that is where my praise as an ardent fan of the series ends. One of the major factors in what made the books perform with the wild success that they did was the complex and human narrative. Despite being set during an ongoing murder investigation, the books have a great amount of lightness and tenderness to them. In the movie version, however, the dialogue leads overly into description, taking away from the clues and red herrings. The humour doesn’t land well either.
Several plot points from the book which make up a big chunk of the “why” of what made the series good are completely changed in ways that tear apart the essence of Osman’s story. Some character traits are changed, while other storylines are altered beyond repair. The climax takes the emotional focus of the story away from the characters and shifts it to a grand reveal, which ultimately fails.
While being an okay watch with fun moments in the first half, The Thursday Murder Club is yet another example in a long list of book-to-movie adaptations which, despite having star power and big budgets, don’t make a mark.
Rutvik Bhandari is an independent writer. He lives in Pune. He is a reader and a content creator. You can find him talking about books on Instagram and YouTube (@themindlessmess).
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