Netflix has finally dropped its take on bestselling cozy mystery, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, and although the movie retains much of the book’s appeal, readers will spot a few key alterations to the plot.
The two-hour film features Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie playing Cooper’s Chase’s four retired sleuths. Osman’s fifth book in the series, The Impossible Fortune, comes later this year, so the film release is beautifully timed for long-time readers.
The central quartet is accurately represented: Mirren’s former detective Elizabeth, Imrie’s cheerful nurse Joyce, Kingsley’s considerate psychiatrist Ibrahim, and Brosnan’s rude union leader Ron. They generate much of the film’s heart and humor. Yet the film cuts a number of side stories – including Elizabeth’s extensive MI6 backstory, which receives only passing references here.
One of the largest changes occurs in the villain subplot. In Osman’s novel, Tony Curran, Jason Ritchie, Bobby Tanner, and Turkish Johnny are bound up in an unsavory drug-dealing ring. The movie recycles this as an immigrant-trafficking business in which passports, not drugs, propel the action. Bogdan, who becomes Tony’s assassin, is depicted sympathetically in the film as a man struggling to get his passport to visit his ill mother. In the book, Bogdan’s revenge is better planned, based on avenging a killed friend.
Jason’s character also differs: rather than being implicated in drug offences, Jason is arrested on suspicion of Ian Ventham’s murder in the film, only to be told that he was having an illicit affair with Ian’s wife. There is no such subplot in the original book.
A number of characters and emotional histories were also lopped. Father Mackie, who in the novel has a tragic history of a love affair doomed to fail, is boiled down in the movie to a protester in the background at the cemetery. Similarly, Gordon and Karen Playfair, Cooper’s Chase resident Bernard, and Patrice (PC Donna de Freitas’ mom) are all missing. These eliminations make the film tighter but lose some of the richer emotional texture of the book.
One aspect the film does maintain is the core twist: Penny and John, the initial founders of the Thursday Murder Club, are central to the crime that occurred decades ago. Penny had murdered a young man who had killed his girlfriend, and she hid his body in the cemetery, and John murdered Ian to keep Penny’s past secret. This is the same ending as in the book, maintaining the emotional pull of the story.
All in all, Netflix’s Thursday Murder Club presents a loyal but condensed adaptation, walking the tightrope of cozy appeal and enough plot turns to keep diehard Osman book fans and fresh viewers alike hooked.
Jamie Wells has a knack for getting the inside scoop on Hollywood’s biggest stars and up-and-coming talent. With a sharp eye for industry trends and an ear for viral moments, Jamie covers everything from red-carpet events to behind-the-scenes drama in movies, TV, and celebrity culture.
