SherlockAn Essay in Seven Clips

The Essay Question

How does “A Study in Pink” show Sherlock Holmes as a very modern update of the original character?

Introduction

• Info: “A Study in Pink” (2010), written by Steven Moffat, directed by Paul McGuigan.

• Info: Update of “A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

• What is the plot about?• What is your essay going to be about?

Clip 1 – Watson’s Nightmare• Why are we shown this nightmare? How does it

connect to the original Conan-Doyle stories?• Which camera angles/ movements are used in this

scene? Why does the director use these?• How would you describe the colours in this section?

How do they help create an appropriate mood?• Think about the sound – what can you hear? How is

the sound unusual? Why is this?• What does Watson’s reaction to the nightmare show

us about his character? How does the music support this?

• How do these show that “Sherlock” is very modern?

Clip 2 – The Press Conference• This scene features Detective Lestrade – what is the connection to

the Conan-Doyle stories?• In this scene, Holmes makes Lestrade look foolish. How? (Comment

on the use of graphics.)• The reporters are all shown answering their phones at the same

time in a single shot – why?• Which other people receive the message?• What happens to the music when Lestrade is asked about a “serial

killer”? Why?• How does costume make the Daily Mail reporter look less friendly?• Lestrade receives a final message – how do we know it is from

Sherlock?• What do all these things reveal about the character of Sherlock

Holmes?

Clip 3 – The Meeting• For these questions you will need to look up “autism” and “sociopath” in a

dictionary.

• Holmes is unaware of the way he insults Molly – why is this important to our understanding of him?

• He doesn’t allow Watson to begin a conversation, and seems to have no interest in him, why?

• The scene ends with Holmes summarising many things about Watson. Why does the audience know that he is correct in the things he says?

• What effect does the music have when Holmes is summarising Watson.• What does this say about an audience’s expectations of the character of

Sherlock Holmes?• How do these points help to present Holmes’s personality in a very

twenty-first century way?

Clip 4 – Baker Street• Which references to the original stories do we find in

this scene?• Mrs Hudson makes a very twenty-first century

presumption about Holmes and Watson – what is it? Where else in the programme is this mistake made?

• How does this make the story more modern?• What is she referring to when she says “married

ones”?• This motif is returned to several times: can you think of

another from the film? • How does this show a difference between Victorian

society and our own?

Clip 5 – The Cab

• How did Holmes know Watson had been in military service?

• The editing in the scene is incredibly quick – why?• Why do the various shots focus on specific details?• How does the editing focus the audience’s attention

on:The fact that Watson’s phone was a gift andWatson’s brother’s drink problem?

• How does sound in the scene make Holmes’s deduction feel dramatic?

Clip 6 – The Body

• Explain how editing, camera angle, music and graphics demonstrate Holmes’s power of deduction in this scene.

Clip 7 – The Chase• Which techniques are used to show Holmes

planning a route to follow the cab?• How is this a modern presentation?• How does the editing show Holmes’s

understanding of the London streets?• How does the music reflect the emotion/

atmosphere of the scene?• How does the editing during the chase show the

distance the pair are travelling?• Why is the end of the scene an anti-climax?

Conclusion

• Summarise: How is the new Sherlock presented in a much more modern way than the original by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? How are the parts from the original updated?