Chris Columbus has always had a knack for creating films where characters seem to inhabit grand, palatial homes – think of the enormous suburban house in ‘Home Alone’, or the San Francisco property in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’, which is now a tourist attraction. That sensibility carries through here: the retirement home in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ feels almost like a magical boarding school, reminiscent of the ‘Harry Potter’ films Columbus also directed. It makes him a surprisingly good fit for this material, since the residents we meet are comfortably off, but still ready to embark on new adventures.

The group is made up of retirees with varied and colourful pasts: one worked in intelligence, another in psychiatry, others in trade unionism or nursing. Together they form a club that meets to investigate old unsolved crimes. What begins as a pastime to fill their retirement soon becomes something more urgent when real murders occur within their community. Rather than merely colliding with the official investigation, the group starts to lead it forward, often outpacing the police. It’s a clever conceit: the authorities don’t have time to pursue every angle, but these retirees do – and they are determined to find out ‘whodunnit.’

The film boasts an extraordinary cast: Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, and Jonathan Pryce all shine, and the tone balances humour with poignancy. Mirren is a delight, going undercover as a harmless little old lady,  and she looks uncannily like Queen Elizabeth – recalling Mirren’s performance as the monarch two decades earlier – and the disguise adds a playful layer to the role. Jonathan Pryce’s portrayal of dementia, along with another character in palliative care, grounds the comedy in emotional truth.

What makes the film resonate is the stubborn determination of its characters. The police, often irritated by what they see as ‘geriatrics interfering’, are consistently outmatched by the retirees’ persistence and resourcefulness. Beneath the mischief, the film acknowledges mortality with unusual candour. The ending is especially moving: set to Cat Stevens’ ‘Oh Very Young’, it shows characters reflecting on lives of great adventure, aware that they may not have many years left, but determined to go out with a bang.

In the tradition of Agatha Christie, ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ offers ingenious plotting and clever reveals. We’ve had many variations on Christie’s formula in recent years, from ‘Knives Out’ to Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot films, but what sets this apart is the ensemble of pensioners who outwit the authorities. Mischievous, touching, and often very funny, it combines the pleasures of a classic whodunnit with a poignant reflection on ageing, friendship, and the refusal to fade quietly into the background.