This paper is devoted to a critical analysis of the movie ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and its main character. The movie was directed by Guy Ritchie in 2009. Robert Downey Jr. is the main character or as Sherlock Holmes, and David Jude Law as Dr. Watson. This movie was honored with numerous awards, such as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, the Empire Awards for the Best Thriller Movie and nominated for two Academy Awards.
The movie begins with Sherlock Holmes and Watson trying to prevent a ritual murder of a woman by a black magic practitioner Lord Blackwood. Sherlock started this investigation because five similar murders of a young woman has happened, and Blackwood is the suspected murderer. The case of murder seems so mystical as it deals with black magic and rituals, and there is apparently no possible evidence that leads to a particular motive or person. Holmes investigates the movie through crime scene observation, logical reasoning, and interaction with suspects. So, the movie can be classified under the sub-genre of both impossible crime mystery and psychological deduction, because the murderer leaves a puzzling clue at every crime scene and, the clue is derived by Holmes through logical reasoning. As usual in other films, Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed as an amateur detective in this movie, even due to his powers of reasoning and logical thinking. In the movie, this case has been left by the police and has appointed Sherlock Holmes to investigate the mystery behind the successive murder. The story seems mystical and impossible in the beginning, as the villain Lord Blackwood tries to scare him several times that “this is a riddle that you cannot solve”. But when the crime gets solved, it proves that there is no magic, only conjuring tricks or scientific trickery. The corruption of modern society corruption, the loss of order and morality are the main themes of the story.
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Sherlock Holmes begins this case with his usual procedures and format. He is completely confident in solving the case due to his experiences in handled numerous cases. But later on, he is strike with fear when he hears that Lord Blackwood has risen from the grave on the third day of his execution. Dr. Watson has himself stated his death after his execution. It is at this point of the story the mystery starts and Sherlock focus on the case more with the fullest attention. Later, while observing the grave and coffin of Blackwood, Holmes collects a series of clues and asserts that there has been a clear possibility of scientific cheating. Another incident where he observes a corpse of a person who had tried to kill them previously. Holmes observes the body thoroughly, like the blood stain, hair, skin texture and smell to identify his profession and identity. In all these incidents we can see the logical and intuitional approach of the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
The film initially reveals the murderer and the only factor remaining is to reason out how the murder has done and what was the intention behind the crimes that have happened. Holmes also rely on the circumstantial evidence from which he tries to reason out the actual evidence or facts that have happened.
Holmes professional character as a hardboiled detective is also reflected in the movie. He stays alone in 221B Baker Street. He was accompanied by Dr. Watson, but later on moves to his fiancée’s flat. He is engaged with his personal researches and medical discoveries. He traps flies in a glass tube and tries to bring order between them using musical theory played with a small musical instrument. He says he was at this study for more than six hours to find this theory. He is also portrayed as a fighter in the film. But his fighting skills are basically through behavioral analysis, as he calculates the opponent's moves and tactics to counterattack.
Sherlock Holmes in all terms is an excellent detective character to be used for an analytical study. According to the modern detective fictions introduced by Edgar Allan Poe, he uses various techniques and skills which he has acquired from his intellectual abilities. He is a good example of behavioral science, psychological analysis, and crime investigation on organized crimes and murder mystery.
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