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The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
3/17
3/17:
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is seven percent Holmes and ninety-three percent hogwash.
What a cast. This one includes Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Jeremy Kemp, Vanessa Redgrave, Laurence Olivier,
Joel Grey, and Samantha Eggar. We're talking about seven Oscar wins and thirty nominations although Williamson and Kemp have
none.
It's too bad the film doesn't live up to the expectations of the star-studded cast. Most of the blame lies squarely
on Herbert Ross who's frankly a mediocre director. In fact, according to Wikipedia: "[Nicholas] Meyer revealed that he had
often fought with Ross because Ross was too faithful to Meyer's novel. He believed that the script would not be cinematic
enough if it was too faithful with the source."
I've read all of the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle at least three times, and I'm used to what Sherlock Holmes and Dr.
John Watson are like. Having seen many that feature the famed detective, I'm convinced there's no such thing
as a good Sherlock Holmes picture. The trouble is nobody, although it should be easy, knows how to give a correct
rendition of Holmes' and Watson's deportment and manner of speaking. To begin, Holmes' command of the English language is
supposed to be supreme and so are his ways in everything else.
Hence, listening to Nicol Williamson and watching how he acted as Sherlock Holmes one minute into the film, I knew
he didn't have it down pat. The same thing goes for Robert Duvall as Watson. So, the rest of the way is a wannabe
like the others. Everybody else, including Alan Arkin who's oddly miscast, is fair, but Laurence Olivier is
wasted. Why bother with him? For the most part, the players, with the exception of Nicol Williamson who
occasionally rises to the moment, go through the motions and collect their paychecks.
It's nice to hear Holmesian references being dropped from time to time, and I can remember which stories they're
talking about. The title of the film is how much the real Holmes injected himself which is a solution of
7% cocaine and 93% saline. At one point, there's an interesting game of racquetball-like tennis. I've never seen anything
like it. But the swordfighting atop the moving train is by far the most ridiculous tripe. So is Holmes' hypnotic confession
of what he saw when he was a kid.
All in all, despite the awesome collection of talented thespians, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a disappointing
Sherlock Holmes picture.