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Marissa Porraz
Dr. Haas
Writing 39B
19 May 2014
The Final Problems
Sir Arthur Conan Doyles creation of an archetypal detective genre has generated many
modern interpretations of Sherlock Holmes, his sidekick, John Watson, and their various mystery
solving adventures together. It is one of the few genres in which the reader becomes part of the
story; however, in modern film and television adaptations, the audience no longer experiences
the story through the classical narration of John Watson, but through the camera lens. These
modern takes on the Holmes series, such as Stephen Moffats Sherlock and Guy Ritchies
Sherlock Holmes films, give the audience much more freedom in determining the outcome of the
mystery because cinematic devices allow viewers the luxury of seeing Watson, Holmes, and
even Moriartys thought processes. With each new version of Holmes and Watson, there also
comes a new interpretation of the villain, Professor James Moriarty. Both Sherlock and the film
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows adapt Conan Doyles story The Final Problem, in
which Holmes and Moriarty fight to the death; both adhere to original elements of the classic
Doyle stories, while using cinematic devices to build suspense for the 21
st
century audience.
In the final fight scene from A Game of Shadows, Sherlock Holmes, played by Robert
Downey Jr., is invited to both a chess match and a battle of wits with Professor Moriarty, who is
played by Jared Harris. Much to the surprise of the villain, Holmes has observed Moriartys
documentations in a small, red notebook, stolen from him in a previous altercation, and has
completely destroyed his diabolical plans for an all-out world war. Consequently, Holmes and
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Moriartys symbolic chess match leads to a stalemate, as Holmes realizes the injury to his
shoulder will compromise him when added to Moriartys equally destructive mental foresight.
For the first time within the Sherlock Holmes stories and adaptations, the viewer is able to have a
glimpse into Professor Moriartys thoughts through a conversation he has with Holmes via their
minds, which is accomplished by voiceover sound editing. Over the course of the movie, an
audience unaware of Sherlocks true fate has developed a sense of sympathy for him and by
including a supposed plot twist where the main character dies; the element of surprise is
established (Filmslate). However, for someone who has read The Final Problem by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, this element of surprise is not whether Sherlock will die, but when. It is an
essential scene because it keeps within the story the mutual destruction of Holmes and Moriarty
just as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle describes in The Final Problem. In contrast, there is no final
note left by Holmes to tell Watson of his inevitable death. Instead, Watson walks in right at the
end of the scene as Holmes and Moriarty go over the balcony, where Watson and Holmes
exchange final glances before he is gone; thus, making for a more dramatic scene for the
audience.
Much of the suspense created within this scene is attributed to the cinematic structure
between film editing and sound. For example, an overlapping edit shows gives the audience
insight towards where both Holmes and Moriarty are about to throw a punch before the actual
action takes place. This type of editing adds the suspense to the fight because it emphasizes both
Holmes and Moriartys super powers of pre-cognition, that is their extreme ability to deduce
events in the future right before they happen. This means that the audience is shown the
beforehand, slow motion enactment of the altercation and then the actual fight itself; which, by
this time the fighters have already planned their throws and are now executing them.
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Additionally, the camera angle is at eye level, which speaks to the equal mental and physical
power of Moriarty and Holmes (DaVega). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created these two characters
of equal strength, but opposing forces to supplement each other; which explains the relationship
between Moriarty and Holmes in Final Problem where Holmes explains to Watson that
[Moriarty] is the Napoleon of Crime (4). Sound is another important element that adds to the
drama because as film professor Stephen DaVega argues, the audience notices it less, but feels
it more than many elements of visual cinematic language (0:36-0:42). Within the fight scene
between Holmes and Moriarty, the audience hears the voiceovers of the two mens thoughts, a
synchronous sound, made to match what we see in the images with what is likely to happen.
Post-synchronous dubbing is demonstrated by the sounds of fists flying and whirring motions
with each swing of the arm elevate the action of the fight. Finally, the fast-paced score increases
the pace of suspense, which guessing at will come next, determined to know the final outcome of
the fight (Yale). Yet, and the end of the scene, the slower, more dramatic score establishes the
loss of a sympathized character, and re-establishes the cinematic reality of what the audience
has just witnessed.
Since it is set in the 21
st
century London, the last episode of Sherlock season 2, The
Reichenbach Fall, Holmes and Moriarty solve their final problem on the rooftop of St.
Bartholomews Hospital. Earlier in the show, Moriarty has successfully destroyed Holmes
reputation and the audience believes the only way out is for Holmes to commit suicide;
otherwise, Moriartys men will kill the three most important people in his life: Watson, Ms.
Hudson, and Inspector Lestrade. Here, emotion is evoked and thus creates heightened suspense
as the audience is now torn between their beloved main character and his friends, whom we have
gained sympathy for through the course of the series (Filmslate). What differs from the classic
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story The Final Problem and Moffats interpretation is that there is no literal Reichenbach Fall
(an actual waterfall in Switerland) that Holmes goes down, but rather he falls from a building
and also experiences and symbolic fall from grace, in which his reputation is destroyed due to
Moriarty and the Reichenbach case. Also, Moriarty does not take this fall with Holmes, but
strays from Doyles story by killing himself. On the other hand, what has been salvaged from the
classic stories is the diversion that Moriarty sets up for Watson to be somewhere else, in this
case, ensuring Ms. Hudson is safe. Lastly, Holmes calls Watson on his cell phone in order to
deliver a modern twist of the suicide note that the original Holmes left in The Final Problem.
Ultimately, the suspense of the last scene of The Reichenbach Fall is created through
similar cinematic elements as those used in A Game of Shadows. For example, the shot that
closes in on Holmes and Moriarty shaking hands essentially symbolizes how the power between
the two have reached its peak. Combined with the background sound of a pulsing beat, this cues
the unexpected plot twist of Moriartys upcoming suicide. Within aspects of the scene, the
audience sees the two characters in conversation in a full shot, where it frames them, reduces the
background, and emphasizes their importance (DaVega). Once Moriarty shoots himself, the
pulsating beat gets faster and the score intensifies that it necessary for Holmes to make a
decision. Consequently, the element of immediacy is put into the scene and creates suspense
when combined with the other elements of sound and framing (Filmslate). Racking focus is
utilized as it shifts between each of the speakers and blurring out the listener as the other is
talking, thus causing the viewer to focus and refocus on each character as he speaks (Yale).
Lastly, the calmer score that follows Moriartys suicide illustrates Holmes final decision and his
goodbye to Watson.
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The modern day interpretations of Sherlock Holmes display how the directors have both
taken liberties with the Holmes genre, but also left in some of the crucial classical elements of
the Conan Doyle stories. With this in mind A Game of Shadows displays how the director, Guy
Ritchie, attempts to leave in some of the classical elements of the Holmes stories while creating a
modern twist. Although the movie is set in the late Victorian Period, the film is still filled with
many anachronistic elements that tie into the heightened suspense of the more modern action
genre. For instance, esteemed film critic, Roger Ebert claims that many of the explosions,
gunfire, special effects, and fights bear no comparison to the fistcuffs of the period, essentially
that all the advanced technology used in the film would not have been relevant in the actual
Victorian period, but in order to appeal to the 21
st
century audience, these anachronistic elements
elevate the action and suspense within the movie. Nevertheless, Sherlock Holmes takes on more
of a superhero role, more than the sarcastic and witty consulting detective the Sherlock audience
knows. In addition, the film incorporates somewhat of a love affair between Irene Adler and
Sherlock Holmes despite the classic stories saying he simply does not have a love life. Lastly,
James Moriarty is actually presented as a university professor and an equal, if not more powerful
opponent for Sherlock Holmes.
Conversely, Stephen Moffats Sherlock series is both made and set in the twenty-first
century London. What adds to the construction of the show is that along with Sherlocks unique
knowledge and deduction skills, he is aided with more advanced technology such as phones,
texting, internet, taxicabs, and even the hospital laboratory. As the film critic known as MEW
argues, This cutting edge Sherlock has a smart phone permanently attached to his hand, which
he consults at lightning speed. Rather than send telegrams, he texts. Rather than publishing
articles and monographs, he has a website called The Science of Deduction. This goes hand
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in hand with the advanced graphics that the creators incorporated into scenes for the reason that
the show is set in the twenty-first century. Graphics such as superimposition of road maps of
London, subways maps, and Holmes deductions bring the viewer into the Mind Palace of
Holmes, but also plays on the time period of the twenty-first century while still incorporating the
classical elements of Doyles stories.
Essentially, even with all the differences between the two modern interpretations of
Sherlock Holmes, both Sherlock and A Game of Shadows, for the first time allow the audience to
enter Holmes thoughts. This is something that the classical Doyle stories leave out so that the
readers will be more active in figuring the mystery out for themselves. In one respect, the
modern versions of the Doyle stories still incorporate the viewer into the story, piecing together
the clues with Holmes and Watson. Although the detective canon dates back to the Victorian era,
even newer generations of readers and viewers in the 21
st
century find that the detective genre
archetypes must be followed even with the large gap of time between the centuries. The fight
scenes are what do the classical stories the justice by adding the elements needed to create the
much-needed suspense to persistently keep the viewer thinking. Lastly, the modern twist of the
villain Moriarty is something new as we actually get to know the weaknesses and even the
thoughts of the all-powerful nemesis. Essentially, the final problems are worked out in very
different ways, but ultimately tackle the same conventions the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
created.








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Works Cited
Building Suspense: How to Keep the Audience at the Edge of their Seats. Filmslate. Web.
18 May 2014. < http://www.filmslatemagazine.com/filmmaking/building-
suspense-how-to-keep-the-audience-on-the-edge-of-their-seat>
DaVega, Stephen. Angles YouTube. YouTube, 19 October 2009. Web. 19 May 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULLesIpNQUA>
_____. Sound YouTube. YouTube, 19 October 2009. Web. 19 May 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kpFj8rLSfw>
_____. Shot Types and Implied Proximity YouTube. YouTube, 19 October 2009.
Web. 19 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPm3UBF5mk>
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: Adventure #11: The Final Problem.
Lit2Go. PDF.
Ebert, Roger. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Movie Review. RogerEbert.com. 2011.
Online Publication. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-
shadows-2011>
MEW. Review-Sherlock BBC TV. McCurdos Camp. 2011 January. Online Publication.
<http://mcmurdoscamp.wordpress.com/cultural-items-2/review-bbcs-new-sherlock/>
Ritchie, Guy, dir. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2011. Film.
The Reichenbach Fall. Sherlock. BBC. United Kingdom. Television.
Prunes, Mariano, et al. Part 3: Cinematography. Yale University Film Studies Program. 27
August 2002. Online. Publication. <http://classes.yale.edu/film-
analysis/htmfiles/nojava_index.htm>
_____. Part 4: Editing. Yale University Film Studies Program. 27 August 2002. Online
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Publication. <http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/nojava_index.htm>
_____. Part 5: Sound. Yale University Film Studies Program. 27 August 2002. Online
Publication. <http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/nojava_index.htm>