"The Doctor's Case": A Short Film Review

On Saturday February 23rd, the Bootmakers of Toronto held a very special screening of The Doctor’s Case (2018) co-directed by James Douglas and Leonard Pearl at the Toronto Reference Library. The film has won several awards and is based on the short-story by Stephen King but with a twist ending!

Both directors and Joanna Douglas, who played the role of Tabitha Hull, made a special guest appearance and they shared their experience of the production process, which Douglas had described himself as “serendipitous.” The story about the anonymous, mysterious cat that made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the film was, perhaps, the funniest of them all--and probably a clear sign that the film was meant to be.

As a crowd funded project, the film had a limited budget and a tight deadline. It was also Douglas’s first film. Despite these limitations (or because of them) we learned that the cast and crew worked tirelessly, and their devotion and love for this project clearly paid off as the film was produced with such great integrity. Everything from the music to the actors’ performance was so cleverly executed. J.P. Winslow’s performance of Sherlock Holmes was interesting and refreshing. Unlike Basil Rathbone or Benedict Cumberbatch who exude an air of confidence in their performance of Holmes, I felt that Winslow presented a more “down-to-earth” version of the Great detective. We got to see a slightly more vulnerable and human side to Holmes and this was evident not only in the fact that Holmes was not able to solve the case (due to his severe allergy to cats) but I was impressed by how Holmes genuinely supports Watson (played by Michael Coleman) throughout his investigation of the crime scene. One of my favorite moments in the film was when Holmes describes Watson deduction as “first class.” The pairing of Holmes and Watson was done so tastefully and their friendship was conveyed in a compelling way.

There are many aspects of the film that I really enjoyed and learning about the process made me appreciate the film all the more. Small details such as the song that Holmes plays on the violin at the end of the film, which was an homage to Douglas’s aunt who is a pianist, were really touching. I also found the Captain Norton’s role (played by Denise Crosby) in the film so intriguing and can’t wait to see if there’s going to be a sequel!

Unfortunately, due to copyright reasons the film can only be viewed at certain events and is not available for sale. However, Douglas had mentioned that they hope to make it to the big screen, and when that day comes, I hope the Bootmakers can make a field trip out of it.

Interested in the film? See the official homepage of the “The Doctor’s Case” here.

Join the Bootmakers for more special events here!

❤Happy 2019 to Sherlockians Near and Far❤

January has been such a festive month! For me, it began with celebrating the Japanese New Year (Oshōgatsu), followed by Sherlock Holmes’s birthday on the 6th. To top it all off, the Bootmakers of Toronto held its annual Blue Carbuncle Awards Dinner on Saturday January 26th. This year, it was changed to a luncheon and it was held at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.

As one of the newest members, this was my first time attending the event and I was pleasantly surprised at how well organized and just how fun it was.

The Awards luncheon began with a series of toasts by fellow members of the Bootmakers, which were all  delivered with wit and humor, especially the toast to “A Certain Gracious Lady” (aka. Queen Victoria) by Margaret French who was perfectly dressed for the part. Doug Wrigglesworth also said a few words in tribute to Peter Calamai.

👏Our guest speaker: Mattias Boström 👏

After a (surprisingly) tasty meal, we put down our forks and knives and all waited in anticipation to meet our special “virtual” guest—Mattias Boström—Swedish writer, Sherlockian and winner of the 2018 Agatha Award for his book entitled From Holmes to Sherlock (2013). Mattias gave an insightful talk about the extensive research that went into writing his book, and his hopes that it will connect new Sherlockians to its long and varied history and tradition(s). At the end of his talk, three lucky members won a copy of Mattias’s book. If you don’t own a copy you can purchase yours here!

Mattias’s talk was followed by a fun quiz created by Donny Zaldin based on the illustrations (mostly by Sidney Paget) in the Canon. We had to guess the name of the story and the characters shown on the slides--and some of them were a bit challenging! Apparently, there's a quiz every year, so I’ll be prepared for next time.

Finally, the event ended with honoring fellow members for their contribution to the Bootmakers—it is an awards luncheon after all! A special plaque was made for Mike Ranieri without whom there would be no lovely program and exciting events. (To view details about last year’s events and award recipients, see here).

One of the most rewarding things about being a member of the Bootmakers (or any Sherlockian society for that matter)  is being able to connect with locals and Sherlockians from around the world. The Blue Carbuncle Awards luncheon was such a great way to end the first month of the new year and I look forward to all the upcoming events scheduled this year! (P.S. I’ll be a giving a short talk at our next meeting on February 23rd 2019).

If you want to learn more about who we are and what we do, check us out here.

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