Review | From page to screen, “The Thursday Murder Club” misses the mark

Collage by Sienna Lewis, Staff Photographer

As a fan of Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club” book series, I was excited about the movie’s release, especially given those involved. With it being produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Chris Columbus, known for hits like the first three Harry Potter movies and Home Alone, what could go wrong?

Columbus’s “The Thursday Murder Club” brings the Coopers Chase retirement home, and four troublemaking pensioners hungry to solve cold cases, to the screen. The movie maintains some key traits of the book, but keeping the plot points came at the expense of the movie’s rhythm and Osman’s beloved characters.

I couldn’t imagine how an audience unfamiliar with the story could follow the overlapping narratives and stakes that smoothly develop in the book. Even though I knew what was coming next, Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Joyce (Celia Imre), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Ron (Pierce Brosnan) didn’t take me along with their detective work. The mystery isn’t solved with the audience — the solution is stated. Adapting the novel into a television series instead of a movie could have better reflected Osman’s writing.

A television series alternative would have also allowed for more emphasis on Donna De Freitas (Naomi Ackie), who, in the film adaptation, becomes an unintelligent pawn for Elizabeth and Joyce to take advantage of. It was disappointing to see Donna be reduced to such a weak character when her complex relationship with the pensioners is pivotal to solving every mystery in the book series. Because Osman writes characters so well and with such crisp detail, casting was incredibly important. And it didn’t hit the mark.

Another disappointing character was Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). Written as an intimidating giant with a kind soul by Osman, the casting choice and character arc were all wrong in the film adaptation. Hughes isn’t who Osman describes. Not only does he not look the part, but his influence on the plot gets confusing in the film, so when the truth is unveiled, we don’t believe Bogdan. To be fair, Bogdan’s character is further developed in the following books, but with this introduction, it’s hard to imagine a successful transformation of Bogdan on the screen to follow.

When the main cast was announced in April 2024, Instagram comments debated Brosnan’s casting in the role of Ron Ritchie — a rash, tattooed and distrustful former union-trade leader. Fans agreed Ray Winstone would be a more accurate portrayal of Ron, but Osman defended this decision.

“Here’s the key thing about Pierce Brosnan playing Ron: Pierce Brosnan is who Ron would choose to play Ron… Ron is very much a Pierce Brosnan man,” Osman told Empire.

Though not who I had pictured Ron to be either, the inconsistencies in Brosnan’s portrayal of Ron were surprisingly the least of my grievances. Columbus recreated his special friendship with Ibrahim and kept him a West Ham United fan — though I don’t think Ron would ever wear a West Ham robe out in the Coopers Chase courtyard.

A more problematic performance was Mirren as Elizabeth Best, the leader of the club. In the books, Elizabeth resonates with readers because of the double-edged nature of her character: she is at once a fiery and talented detective and a wife grieving her husband as she loses him to dementia. The muddled plot points didn’t help, but Mirren certainly didn’t embody these key character traits. Columbus’s spin on Elizabeth was hard to empathize with and annoying, making her vital role the cases a hard watch.

“The Thursday Murder Club” wasn’t the same as the books, but when can an adaptation really be? In a podcast episode on Feb. 6, Osman revealed that he was offered to write the script, but declined because he was writing the next book in the series. 

For a fan of the book series, the main value this film adds is a visual for the beautiful grounds of Coopers Chase. But in a lot of areas, Columbus’s movie doesn’t reflect the magic of Osman’s creation.

But Osman might not mind. On “The Rest is Entertainment,” a podcast he co-hosts with The Guardian journalist Marina Hyde, he has been an advocate for book adaptations, regardless of the turnout. No matter its success, a movie is a great marketing tool for a book. 

In an interview with Columbus on the podcast, the pair hinted that the movie adaptations of books two and three are in the works. So between the series’ continuing on the page and on the screen, strap in because “The Thursday Murder Club” is still kicking.