Retirement gets deadly (and delightfully funny) in the star-studded whodunit 'The Thursday Murder Club'

I’m not going to lie, the impressive ensemble cast of Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie and Tom Ellis was what first drew me to “The Thursday Murder Club”.

The crime drama, which is based on Richard Osman’s novel of the same name, also captured the atmospheric charm of whodunits like “Miss Marple” and “Agatha Christie’s Poirot”.

The film opens with psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif (Kingsley), former trade union leader Ron Ritchie (Brosnan), and ex-spy Elizabeth Best (Mirren) conducting their weekly cold case meeting at Coopers Chase, a cushy retirement village. 

They are briefly interrupted by Joyce, a retired nurse and new resident, who is giving her daughter a quick tour. 

Elizabeth approaches her about becoming a temporary member after witnessing her calm reaction to the crime scene photos of murder victim Angela Hughes. This was an old case of Detective Inspector Penny Gray, who is now comatose in hospice.

Meanwhile, redevelopment plans for Coopers Chase become a thorny issue for the residents, who aren’t keen to have their idyllic lives disrupted.

Comforted by Tony Curran’s (Geoff Bell) strong opposition to the plans of his partner Ian Ventham (Tennant), the issue becomes more pressing when Tony is found murdered, followed by Ian not long after.

Of course, the club members waste little time in running a parallel investigation with the police. As such, they conspire to get Police Constable Donna De Freitas (Ackie), who has been recently transferred and is underutilised in her new post, assigned to the case. 

Having an ally in law enforcement is advantageous. 

Also, Donna has an eye for spotting vital clues, unlike her superior, DCI Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays).

Following the clues, the club members, especially the fearless Elizabeth, uncover several twists. These involve an elusive third partner in the property development - a crime boss - and Ron's ex-boxer son, Jason (Ellis), who becomes a person of interest due to his past connections with criminals.

That’s not forgetting Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), the suspicious Polish handyman.

Although he doesn’t have many scenes, Jonathan Pryce makes an indelible impression as Stephen Best, Elizabeth’s forgetful chess-loving husband. 

Joyce's knack for whipping up mouth-watering cakes, along with the other members' quirks, heightens the movie's appeal, where the current and initial cold case is resolved. 

Overall, this is a delightfully engaging whodunit, underpinned by the humour and sarcasm that only comes from life experience. Book purists may want to avoid this adaptation.

And the veteran actors deliver spellbinding performances as only they can.

Rating: *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.

∎ “The Thursday Murder Club” is streaming on Netflix.