Film: You’ve got to wonder whose idea it was to release Bill Condon’s first-rate, literate and cerebral Sherlock Holmes tale, called simply Mr. Holmes, in the middle of the summer when it is bound to be crowded out by superhero blockbusters and dazzling animation. Had it been released in the fall, it would surely be vying for Oscars and other awards, particularly for Ian McKellen as the world-famous detective, now retired and drifting into senility. He has abandoned London for a seaside cottage in Sussex, where he resides with a housekeeper (the sublime Laura Linney) and her 14-year-old son Roger, who dotes on Holmes. The old man is straining to recall the details of his final case, something about a housewife and her bouts of depression. Condon directs with wit and attention to detail, his second collaboration with McKellen after 1998’s impressive Gods and Monsters. Opening this weekend at area theaters.
Theater: The winner of this summer’s Festival Rep at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton is clearly She Loves Me, the charm-filled romantic musical comedy by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick from 1963. The curious thing is that FAU has no musical theater program, but that has not stopped faculty member Lynn McNutt from whipping the largely student cast into shape in this stylish period tale of two salespeople at a Hungarian perfume shop who take an instant dislike to each other but will obviously figure out that they are in love. Megan Buzzard is the Equity pro brought in to play lovelorn Amalia (and sing “Will He Like Me?,” “Dear Friend” and “Ice Cream”), opposite Connor Padilla, an MFA graduate student who is the MVP of the Rep, also appearing in The Royal Family. Paul Reekie holds it all together as She Loves Me’s musical director and Thomas M. Shorrock contributes a visually stunning unit set. In repertory through July 26.
Music: The Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, after a first week with an exciting contemporary piece by a young American composer, and a second with a French rarity and a beautiful Brahms trio, returns tonight at Persson Hall on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University with music by Haydn, Pierne, and d’Indy, and on the second half, two other rarely heards: The Soli I of Mexican compose Carlos Chavez, and the Clarinet Quintet of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a short-lived black British composer from the turn of the last century who had a big career in his day. Tonight’s 7:30 concert is followed by another at the same time Saturday at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Crest Theatre in Delray Beach. Call 547-1070 or visit www.pbcmf.org.