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Nadine Tawfik
Dr. Lynda Haas
Writing 39B
August 18, 2014
Holmes under Pressure
During the Victorian era, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, a consulting
detective. In the scholarly article The Different Story, Dove underlines the puzzles present in
the Sherlock Holmes novels. They contain the crossword puzzle and the detective novel are free
of stress, each offers the reader a task or set of related tasks, both are shaped by convention, and
neither has any goal beyond itself (Dove 3). The conventions Doyle created around Holmes are
still followed, as this worldwide known genius is still as popular now as he was in Victorian era.
As the years go by, technology develops and people start becoming less fascinated. Since
Boredom, of course, is the epidemic problem of modern life (Panek 93), changes are required
to develop the Holmes persona. More specifically, people have been exposed to the idea of
Sherlock Holmes for many centuries now. As a result, modern-day writers who have recreated
Holmes have made changes to appeal to current audiences.
For the 21
st
century, Sherlock Holmes is most often presented in cinematic productions
such as: Sherlock Holmes the movie directed by Guy Ritchie, and Sherlock the series directed by
Paul McGuigan. To modernize the genius detective, directors have transformed the Doyle novels
into series and films. The modern detective films are focus[ed] on the unsolved crime (AMC
film). To grab youths attention, Suspense is added as the protagonist struggles within the
puzzle-like narrative to gather evidence and testimony, to investigate all motives, and to discover
the one essential clue or fatal flaw/alibi that betrays the identity of the culprit(AMC film). One
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important way the Holmes character has become modern is through short-fuse puzzles. The
directors have created various puzzles which must be solved in a short amount of time. This
suspenseful trick highlights Holmes talent because the puzzles have to be solved quickly in
order to save a life. This idea brings both the modern generation and the old version of Holmes
to one place. Because the puzzle already exists in the novels, they reveal the original stories. On
the other side, the puzzles with cinematic tricks create suspense. Thus, the recreation of short-
fused puzzles to be solved creates an exciting modern version of the stories.
Firstly, in the movie Sherlock Holmes, the cinematic tricks strike out. For example, the
puzzle is revealed distinctively when Sherlock Holmes and Watson are trying to save Miss Irene
Adler. In storage full of butchered pigs, Miss Irene Adler has been tied up on a rail, getting
closer to the chopping knife, close to getting cut in half. During this scene, the viewers sit on the
edge of their seats. Watching with anxiety, the viewers go through the puzzle with Holmes. They
observe his use of his powers. He tries to find a solution. With his mechanical and critical
thinking, he analyses the different parts of the machine, trying to stop the moving rail by
blocking a part of the machine with bones. After that fails, he looks at the water pipes. He knows
specifically when and how to make that work in their favor. Sherlock raises the water pressure;
Watson and he jump on the rail to make the metal weaker. In the end, the metal breaks and they
all escape the sharp knife saw.
The scene starts with the sound of the saw moving with an extreme close up on the
machine. The element is in the left, foreground of the frame. The reason why is to give the sense
of right direction to the audience, knowing that they are moving from the right of the screen to
the left. Thus, the negative space is at the right side of the screen, the audiences eyes are waiting
for the heros group and himself to come and fill in the negative space. The viewer's attention
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is called to an event or presence in the diegesis that is not visible in the frame, (Film Analysis
Guide) creating a sense of thrill. This stage is when the problem is revealed to the audience.
The following scene is when the pigs are cut in half. With a long shot of the pigs going
through the saw one by one, the camera does not move, but the rail does. It shows time is
running out. It is a stable shot that can accommodate movement without reframing (Film
Analysis Guide). This is one of the challenging parts of the puzzle.
The following shot is Sherlock Holmes face. There are two elements in this shot. First,
the light is low-key lighting. There is no harsh or direct light to show Sherlocks face in detail. It
creates a shadow and obscure parts of the principal subjects (Film Analysis Guide). As a
result, it creates tension. Second, the cameras point of view is at low-level. Looking up at
Sherlock, the audience feels like they are looking up at their hero in desperation to save them. It
gives a feel of the victims emotions and puts the audience in Irene Adlers shoes. Thus,
suspense rises in the atmosphere, bringing the puzzle into life.
When Miss Adler is terrified of the moving blade, she looks straight at her density. Then
the camera takes a shot at what Irene Adler is exactly seeing. That is known as the Point-of-view
Shot (Film Analysis Guide) where the camera sees with the characters eyes, showing what the
character would see (Film Analysis Guide). This is repeated when Sherlock notices part of the
machine underground with an opening. The audience gets a point-of view shot to understand
Sherlocks plan. This camera shot gets repeated throughout Sherlocks thought process. The
audience is lead to see what the genius is thinking of doing. Therefore, the audience starts to
figure Holmes plan to solve the puzzle.
In the end, there is a shot of Irene looking straight at the camera with her face separated
by the line created from the saw. It gives an excitement and suspense feeling to the audience.
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This close-up of the victims face is fill[ing] the frame (Film Analysis Guide) showing her face
expression and emotions. It shows how it feels like to be barely saved by Sherlock Holmes.
Right after that shot, comes the life saving shot where Holmes is holding to Irenes shirt to
prevent her from slipping into the saw and becoming two halves. That extreme close-up of
Sherlocks hand holding Adlers shirt shows the importance of that little detail. As a conclusion,
Holmes solves a difficult puzzle at the last minute. This type of action and anxiety is what makes
the modern Holmes as interesting as the old one to youth. With various cinematic tricks to reveal
different parts of the puzzle, and the audience gets actively involved throughout the process.
Furthermore, in the series Sherlock, the audience experiences many scenes where the fast
puzzles are highlighted. For example, in season one, episode three The Great Game, Sherlock
Holmes tries to save the victims who are on the phone. The scene where he looks straight at the
painting trying to figure the proof that the painting is a fake represents the riddle clearly. Holmes
determined to investigate the painting at the last seconds while he tries to save the young boy on
the phone provides the evidence that modern detectives have to be quick and witty. Holmes has
to solve the mystery before it is too late, which creates excitement to the viewers.
The scene starts out with a shallow focus on Sherlock Holmes with the painting behind
him. The director, Paul McGuigan, makes the audience focus on the detective while being able to
see what he is trying to solve. With that in mind, the audience knows the sole purpose of solving
this mystery is to save a life. Thus, this shot conveys the idea of a detective under pressure,
creating involved audience.
The second shot comes with frontality and a close-up of Holmes face. The detective side
of Holmes is revealed when he tries to expose the fraud painting. The Frontality brings the main
character to direct address with the audience, resulting in the audiences eagerness to understand
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what is going in the detectives mind. The close-up uncovers Holmes while at work. He focuses
on every part of the painting to expose it while the spectators observe every emotion on Holmes
face. The combination of the two cinematic tricks makes the audience feel closer to Holmes.
With the clock ticking, the audience is eager to see Holmes solve the riddle. That underlines the
detective convention of a puzzle.
Furthermore, the second shot is the painting itself. This shot is the point-of-view shot
where the audience is directed to what the main character is looking at. Hence, the spectators can
understand what is going through Holmes mind and what he is seeing with his eyes. This is
important to involve the audience with Holmes, creating the suspense present in any detective
film. In addition, this shot is an extreme close-up so that the viewers will feel exactly what
Holmes is seeing and going through. Furthermore, while going through the painting with his
eyes, the audiences go through it with the cameras. This is called pan which creates a feeling of
danger. As a result, the shot makes the spectators feel like detectives while being on the edge of
their seats. They experience the actual puzzle of the detective genres of cinema.
Lastly, the last shot is the close-up of Holmes face when he figures out the answer to his
problem. This is when the viewers are relieved from their anticipation. It is important because
the spectators feel that Holmes has saved the boy at the last minute by being his meticulous self.
At that moment, the detective puzzle is solved and the spectators relax. Holmes takes away the
anxiety from the atmosphere.
In brief, in Sherlock Holmes the movie and Sherlock the series, the cinematic methods of
the different shots reveal the exciting modern Sherlock Holmes. It gives another dimension to the
novels by letting the audience go through a rollercoaster of emotions. The cinematic techniques
prove the modern puzzle of the detective genres. In each stage of the process of solving the
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puzzle, there is a critical moment where the viewers have to pause and watch the professional
work. Therefore, the new combination modernizes the old Holmes stories. That twist of style
makes the detective more approachable to the present audience. With the many types of films
and series, Sherlock Holmes has to stand out with unique techniques and updated side of the
Doyle novels. The under pressure Holmes takes the best of Doyles novels and makes them
better, exciting, and less historic to the nowadays audience. As Rhonda Harris says in her essay
The Great Game of Information, from Sherlock Holmes For The 21
st
Century: Essays On
New Adaptations, the Master Detective, Sherlock Holmes is also a master of information and its
use.() [his critical analysis] have fascinated generations of fans and will continue to impress
coming generations through new modern ways.













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Work Cited
"Detective-Mystery Films." Detective-Mystery Films. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.filmsite.org/mysteryfilms.html>.
Dove, George N. "A Different Kind of War Story." Choice Reviews Online35.08 (1998):
35-4575. 1997. Web. 17 July 2014.
<http://writing.colostate.edu/files/classes/10452/File_F2FC0624-9BF2-B359-
267DB36F2A0791E6.pdf>.
"Film Analysis Guide -- Plain HTML Version." Film Analysis Guide -- Plain HTML
Version. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. <http://classes.yale.edu/film-
analysis/htmfiles/nojava_index.htm>.
Panek, Leroy Lad. "Doyle." Read An Introduction to the Detective Story. 1987. Web. 17
July 2014. http://writing.colostate.edu/files/classes/10452/File_F6F8C8BD-A883-
C5FC8964F5085E301B81.pdf
Thomas, Kayley. "Sherlock Holmes For The 21st Century: Essays On New Adaptations."
(n.d.): n. pag. Web. 10 Aug. 2014.
<http://writing.colostate.edu/files/classes/10452/File_0BF6FFA2-A099-FBDC-
9F2FC3CFCED6396C.pdf>.