Mit A STUDY IN PINK wird Arthur Conan Doyles klassischer Detektiv Sherlock Holmes ins 21. Jahrhundert geholt, denn die Verfilmung des klassischen Stoffes spielt in unseren Tagen. Drei Filme á 90 Minuten hat die BBC produziert.
Dr. Watson kommt – wie im klassischen Original – nach einer Verwundung heim aus Afghanistan und untersucht zusammen mit Sherlock Holmes eine Reihe von Selbstmorden…
Benedict Cumberbatch (TO KILL A KING, TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH) mimt den Holmes. Er sagt über die Rolle: »«Extraordinary amounts of joy, immediately followed by a tidal wave of neurotic worry. You immediately think of Holmes past and present. What am I stepping into? Do I want to be recognised just for this character? You even start to curse your blessings. It’s a strange thing being an actor.« Und weiter nennt er Holmes, »a man of action and a great, great thinker. He has a razor sharp wit that can push people off a pedestal and gain the upper hand in the space of a second. It’s so enjoyable to play.«
Über seine Vorgänger sagt der Schauspieler: »Once you start to play with the ghosts of those brilliant incarnations you’re in trouble. It’s a not a sane thing for any actor to do. Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone are the supreme Victorian incarnations of Holmes. I get great relish out of watching them now and I feel a kinship now having bloodied myself with these first three films.«
Der Detektiv wurde vom neuen Dr. WHO-Chef Steven Moffat (MURDER MOST HORRID, JECKYLL) adaptiert. Er sagt: »It felt cheap and cheerful and a bit pulpy – it’s fun. We thought somebody someday is going to do this again and we’ll be so grumpy about that.« Moffatlobte auch Cumberbatch’s Darstellung des Sherlock Holmes: »It’s a bit of a blessing that one of the hottest young actors on the planet at the moment happens to look like Sherlock Holmes. He does have the look. He’s got that imperious style and he’s a bit Byronic.«
Bild: Steven Moffat auf dem Comic Con 2008 aus der Wikipedia
Jean Upton, Sherlock Holmes Society of London sagte über den Versuch Holmes in 21. Jahrhundert zu holen und den Darsteller Benedict Cumberbatch:
»I think Benedict Cumberbatch is probably going to be a classic Holmes.
You can see that he really understands how the character works and he has fun with it. He’s not allowing the character to overwhelm him. And it’s wonderful to see the chemistry between himself and Martin Freeman.
This is probably the most satisfying interpretation that I’ve seen of Holmes and Watson because it’s going back to the essence of the characters themselves.
A lot of the humour is picked up upon which a lot of people miss when they choose to interpret Holmes and Watson. Conan Doyle throws in a lot of sarcastic humour.
People who are shocked at the way Holmes and Watson spark off each other ought to go back to the originals because that’s where it came from.«