When it comes to upcoming book adaptations, if I’ve read the source material I’m always a bit skeptical, because more often than not the experience of reading something is going to offer more detail and immersion than a movie or TV show. However, there have been tons of examples over the years of the adaptation being either just as enjoyable or better than the book, so I always throw out my reservations until I see both. In this case, I’ve just streamed The Thursday Murder Club movie with my Netflix subscription.
I Had A Blast Seeing Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club Adapted As A Movie
I read the first of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books just last year actually in anticipation of the movie, as by then we already knew a bit about the movie’s release. I hadn’t read a mystery novel in a while. I was curious about a book in the genre taking things to a club between elderly people at a retirement village. As it’s been described, I loved the “cozy” aspect of it along with getting to go on the journey of the book’s mystery with Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce and Ibrahim.
But more than the mystery itself, it was the characters themselves that kept me turning each page – especially the club’s newest recruit, Joyce. Every few chapters in the book, readers get a look inside Joyce’s head, as she has moved to Coopers Chase after years of increasing loneliness following the passing of her husband, the great love of her life.
But, The Biggest Thing I Missed From The Book Was Joyce’s Perspective
In the movie, which largely takes place at a star-studded English countryside location used for X-Men and earned praise from critics when it hit the 2025 Netflix release calendar last week, I found the same thing to be true. Sure, the mystery is really fun to see play out, and was very close to the source material overall, but following the lives of four retirees is very rare for a story to do, especially when you have Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Ben Kingsley in the cast. But rather than Joyce’s perspective being key to the emotion of the film, it revolved around Elizabeth (Mirren) and her husband Stephen (played by Jonathan Pryce).
Since Elizabeth is the most active and most protagonist-y character in The Thursday Murder Club, I totally understand why she was given the biggest spotlight. But, I felt some of the heart of the original novel was left in the source material because the adaptation chose not to tell things from Joyce’s perspective much. Her journey in becoming part of Coopers Chase and as a member of the Thursday Murder Club really helps her cope with her husband’s passing.
When reading her arc in the book, it reminded me how important community and support should be given to the elderly, who can often deal with isolation, loneliness and a lot more grief than any other age group. Here’s hoping that sequels are in the works, and we’ll get to see more of Joyce’s perspective in later movies. But, overall I had a really good time seeing the novel being adapted.