The Thursday Murder Club review: A cute whodunnit adaptation with touches of pathos

For what we have here is a tale that, were it to be deprived of its stellar cast, would fit snugly in the weekend schedules alongside the murderous yet somehow comforting goings-on in the likes of St Mary Mead or Midsomer.

Joyce, for instance, is all about the chintz, with pastel-pink living quarters that could have been interior designed by Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter, while fellow club member Ron (Pierce Brosnan) is the cuddliest trade unionist to have ever burned charcoal in a brazier.

His best pal is psychiatrist Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), a man so buttoned-up he’s become one with his bowtie and tweed. And chief clue-finder is the redoubtable Elizabeth, an ex-spook as scrubbed and stylish as Jackson Lamb is filthy and slovenly.

All these main players probing the untimely death of a property developer are as exemplary as you’d expect, though Brosnan’s (London?) accent does wander more quickly than any resident in an old folks’ home ever could.

But as a piece of filmmaking, The Thursday Murder Club is cleanly rather than cinematically directed by Chris Columbus, to the extent that it feels, as Joyce suggests, like its story ought to have been told across several episodes of a series rather than in a single movie.

What doesn’t help matters are the names in the supporting cast, many of whom are offering variations on parts they’ve played previously on TV. So, David Tennant gives us a spin on his cad from Rivals, Jonathan Pryce is essentially a facsimile of his dementia-diagnosed former spy on Slow Horses, and Daniel Mays appears as a clone of his harassed Magpie Murders cop.

But risk has never been part of the business of cosy crime, as what viewers crave in projects such as this is reassurance, along with enviably picturesque environs and the odd credible twist.

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Here, some of the complexities of the original novel have been streamlined or dropped, a move that benefits some (Naomi Ackie’s PC Donna De Freitas) but shortchanges others (Henry Lloyd-Hughes’s Polish handyman Bogdan).

However, the verdant Coopers Chase, where the gang all reside, is almost Downton-level vast (how are they all affording it?) and its green-and-pleasant scenery is surely destined to be envied by the US export market.

Yet this is not quite a land of lost content, as retrieving the movie from the realm of total make believe are some touches of pathos which, although not as potent as on the page, are still affecting.

These moments may be fleeting, but the odd rumination on belonging and mortality add some welcome emotional shades to what can, at times, be a broad take on the source material.

Still, a couple of hours spent in the company of the key quartet is never less than comradely, and with a bookshelf full of subsequent cases just waiting to be dramatised, it's unlikely that we've seen the last of our feisty famous four.

The Thursday Murder Club is now showing in select UK cinemas and will stream on Netflix from Thursday 28th August 2025. Discover a world of crime & mystery with Sky Essential TV for just £15 a month.

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