Category: Non Sequitor

A Critical Review of The Thursday Murder Club: Moral Ambiguity and Propaganda

After enjoying a sushi dinner with my cousin, I found myself wide awake and browsing Netflix for something to watch. At the top of the list was The Thursday Murder Club, a made-for-TV murder mystery featuring a stellar cast: Helen Mirren as Elizabeth Best, Pierce Brosnanas Ron Ritchie, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim Arif, and Celia Imrie as Joyce Meadowcroft. With such talent, I expected an entertaining whodunit. The premise—a group of senior citizens in a retirement home investigating unsolved murders—seemed promising, so I gave it a try. While the film was engaging and the acting lighthearted, its underlying messages and false premises left me deeply troubled.

A Flawed Premise: Misrepresenting Justice

The story begins with a cold case from 50 years ago: the murder of a young woman, with the prime suspect—her boyfriend—allegedly let off by police because he was a “good old boy.” This setup immediately struck me as implausible. Historically, murder was treated with utmost seriousness, and it’s unlikely that authorities would dismiss such a case so casually. The film’s narrative suggests that systemic corruption, particularly among white Western males, allowed the suspect to evade justice. This feels like a heavy-handed attempt to portray traditional societal structures as inherently flawed, a trope that oversimplifies complex issues and paints an unfair picture.

Elizabeth Best, the club’s leader and a retired MI6 agent, learns about this case from a dying friend in hospice, a former policewoman named Penny Grey, who witnessed the boyfriend’s escape from justice. This subplot sets the stage for the film’s troubling moral ambiguity, which I’ll address later.

A Series of Murders and Questionable Motives

The second murder involves a gangster-like figure, Bobby Tanner, who supposedly protects the Coopers Chase retirement home from being sold. After a public argument with his business partner, Ian Ventham, becomes the obvious suspect in Bobby’s eventual death. Ian, a real estate developer, plans to sell the property, including a cemetery, displacing the seniors. In a bizarre scene, Ian sends an employee—a Polish immigrant gravedigger named Bogdan Jankowski—to begin excavating graves alone, while he confronts a crowd of protesting seniors, including Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce. Elizabeth engages Bogdan in a sympathetic conversation, portraying him as a decent person trapped by his illegal status and inability to visit his mother in Poland. This moment feels like a deliberate attempt to contrast the “virtuous” outsider with the supposedly corrupt locals.

The third murder is Ian Ventham himself, who dies under mysterious circumstances. The plot thickens as Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen Best, who suffers from memory issues, pieces together clues and accuses Bogdan of Bobby Tanner’s death. Additionally, a subplot involves Ron Ritchie’s son, Jason Ritchie, who is jailed as a suspect in Ian’s murder. When Ron presses Jason to reveal his whereabouts during the crime, Jason admits to an extramarital affair with Ian’s wife, Gemma Ventham. Shockingly, Ron accepts this revelation without judgment, as if infidelity is a norm to be overlooked. This scene further underscores the film’s failure to hold characters accountable for morally questionable actions, instead normalizing behavior that disregards personal responsibility.

A Disturbing Moral Framework

The film resolves the murders in reverse order, unveiling a narrative that justifies wrongdoing under the guise of moral necessity. Bogdan, we learn, killed Bobby Tanner accidentally during a confrontation over his withheld passport. The film presents this act as understandable, implying that Bobby’s criminal behavior excuses the killing. However, this ignores the fact that Bogdan could have sought legal recourse to resolve his situation. By framing the manslaughter as a tragic necessity, the writers push the idea that illegal actions are justified if committed by a “good” person.

The earlier murders are even more troubling. The cold-case killer, buried in the cemetery, was murdered years ago by Penny Grey, the hospice-bound policewoman, who took justice into her own hands. To protect her legacy, her husband, John Grey, poisons Ian Ventham. Elizabeth, aware of these crimes, chooses not to report them. Instead, she allows John to euthanize Penny and take his own life, presenting these acts as compassionate. This resolution glorifies vigilantism, euthanasia, and suicide, suggesting that such actions are acceptable if motivated by personal loyalty or perceived justice.

Propaganda and the Culture of Death

The film’s climax, marked by a soliloquy from Ibrahim Arif, reinforces its troubling message: killing is justifiable if the end goal feels righteous. This aligns disturbingly with the notion that “the ends justify the means,” a philosophy that undermines the sanctity of human life. The portrayal of euthanasia and suicide as noble acts is particularly egregious. Penny Grey, though unresponsive, may still have had moments of consciousness or the potential to awaken. John’s decision to end her life robs her of that possibility and any chance to reckon with her past actions. His subsequent suicide is framed as a tragic but acceptable escape from accountability, further eroding moral boundaries. Similarly, the casual acceptance of Jason’s affair as a mere alibi, rather than a breach of trust, reflects the film’s broader tendency to excuse actions devoid of responsibility.

The Thursday Murder Club uses its charming cast and lighthearted tone to mask a narrative that normalizes morally reprehensible actions. By presenting murder, vigilantism, euthanasia, suicide, and infidelity as justified or inconsequential, it subtly promotes a “culture of death” that devalues human life. This is not an isolated issue; many modern films casually depict violence and moral ambiguity without regard for the consequences. While the acting and pacing made the movie watchable, its underlying propaganda left me questioning whether our society has become too desensitized to such messages.

Conclusion

The Thursday Murder Club could have been a fun murder mystery, but its flawed premises and moral justifications overshadow its entertainment value. The film’s attempt to glorify illegal and immoral acts under the guise of compassion is deeply concerning. As viewers, we must question narratives that erode the value of human life and promote a worldview where the ends justify any means. This movie, sadly, is a missed opportunity to tell a story that respects both justice and humanity.

The Worst Ice Cream in the World

A few good laughs to cheer the day.

Life is full of different experiences. You never quite know what will be the novelty that will disrupt your normal course of life. And sometimes, the event will just want to make you laugh.

In this occasion, my wife and I went away for a long weekend in the Saratoga Springs New York area. We were blessed with incredibly beautiful weather; this should have been a sign. Since when does anyone take a vacation, whether long or short, and everything work out perfectly? Not ever.

Arriving in Saratoga Springs, there was a light shower of rain. We had reservations at an Italian restaurant called Forno Bistro. It is situated attached to a converted brick building which also houses a Rug store.  Out front are beautiful trees, bushes and flowers. Beneath the tall trees were lawn chairs for the waiting guests.

When we arrived at the restaurant, they had our reservation, but the table was not ready yet. Meanwhile, I could see a row of tables for two under patio umbrellas not in use. They asked us to wait, and we took the opportunity to sit under the trees and have an order of drinks sent to us. It was quite pleasant and cool as the very light rain fell, but not enough to be felt. Rather quicker than I hoped our table was ready, I was quite enjoying the relaxed environment on the lawn with a glass of Woodford Reserve in my hand.

We were then taken to our seats. The interior of the restaurant was loud and the crowd boisterous. Once I sat in my seat, I could feel a cold breeze from the air conditioning units hitting the back of my neck. We moved the table ourselves a few inches away, hoping that would correct the situation, but it did not. I then went out to the hostess and asked to be reseated.

The manager came over and after having checked the weather forecast believed that the worst had passed and sat us outside, this time on the porch which is where we actually had wanted to sit from the start. We ate to our hearts delight and skipped dessert. After our dinner the rain once again began to fall and still only as a mist.

We decided to seek out coffee and dessert. We stopped in at a small jazz club, where there was barely room to breathe, let alone shout over to the bartender to get a drink. We left after a few short minutes. Walking around town, you could hear loud music emanating from the many nightclubs while scantily dressed young woman and loud young men strolled the streets looking for their next adventure. But we, being over a certain age that does not seek the same, could not find a place to have a cup of coffee. This is something unheard of in New Jersey, where you can find diners all over the state and most are open 24 hours a day. We retreated to the hotel where the restaurant bar was still open, only to discover that they would not serve us coffee either! Explain to me how they can’t make coffee at a bar at 10 o’clock at night?

The next morning we went to Lake George to spend the day there with my wife’s sister and her partner. We met at a restaurant attached to the Marriott Courtyard called Charlie’s Bar and Kitchen for breakfast. We waited only a few short minutes to be seated.

Actually, our waitress seated us. As she walked us to the table, she giggled, telling us there was no reason we had to wait, that the new host was just not skilled yet. I thought her giggling was odd, and appeared to be more of a nervous one. When she asked if we wanted coffee, I asked if they made iced coffee. She responded in the affirmative with yet again another giggle. Later, when my wife’s sister asked what type of bacon they served, she went into a full out cackle, and responded “from pig of course”. Then my wife’s sister read from the menu that it was applewood smoked. The waitress confirmed that and went away.

The giggling did not stop, and it was constant after everything the waitress said. It wasn’t until later that evening that I realized the effect she had on me. She basically gave me the creeps! In conversation that evening I brought it up and realized how grateful I am that we were not staying in the Marriott in Lake George because I would have had fears of a Psycho movie type occurrence with that waitress on my mind. We all laughed about it, but the truth is I can still hear her crazy cackle in my mind, and the mere thought of it send shivers down my spine.

Finally, on our last evening, we were lucky enough to get the last seat to a wonderful jazz show at Café Lena’s. The three-piece band performed masterfully, and we were so happy to have had the experience. When it ended, it was still too early to go back to the hotel, and we decided to seek out dessert. I really wanted a sit down café, but we ended up at an ice cream shop called Kilwin’s. We ordered a scoop each, one flavor was pistachio and the other coconut. We ate it sitting on a bench on the same street and the ice cream itself, for us, was not special, but we did enjoy it.

As we finished our ice cream, we noticed people coming with ice cream cones in their hands from the other direction. We got the idea to go to the other store for fun and order the same flavors to compare.

We found the store, and it was called Saratoga Gelato. We went in and ordered the pistachio and coconut. It was expensive, but the girl behind the counter was very sweet, and we gave her a nice tip any way. We proceeded to go out of the store and sit at another bench to eat the ice cream. The pistachio had a strange flavor and the coconut was worse than bland. I kept tasting the coconut because I could not believe there was absolutely no flavor at all. We disliked it so much that we threw them in the garbage. It was the first time that either of us have ever thrown away ice cream. Hence, we claim that we have made a great discovery and found the worst ice cream in the world! Of course, this could have just been bad batches, but we won’t be returning there either way.

These simple observations and memories will bring joy and laughter for years to come. Life is truly full of twist and turns, and one does not have to look so hard to find the joy in every one.

A Room with a View

NJ RobbinI have been blessed. Outside my bathroom window is a pine tree where this spring a Red Breasted Robbin decided to build its nest. I have been watching daily as the birds, both father and mother tended to it. First came the eggs then of course the sitting and caring for them. Last week they hatched and now I watch as they feed and protect their young. The other day during a particularly hard rain fall I watched as one of the parents spread its wings over the nest protecting the hatchlings. It was a beautiful scene to observe as the water rolled off its wings. Some times when I walk close to the tree in the backyard the parents would fly off. They would not go far and I would watch them with my binoculars while they remained within view on the nearest oak. I have been careful never to go to close to the nest or disturb it in any way. When thinking about the beauty I am observing in creation I can’t help but realize my parents where there for me and others as well. Somehow throughout my life, with all the mistakes I have made, I feel someone has had their wing over me. These birds sure made it clear that living life is really about loving others. All the toil we have only helps us learn how we should share our strengths and when we can spread our own wings over someone else who may be weaker when the rains come down.