Thursday Murder Club: A Refreshing Take on Aging

In an entertainment landscape that too often relegates older adults to the sidelines or reduces them to tired stereotypes, I found Netflix's Thursday Murder Club offering a refreshingly authentic and empowering portrayal of what later life could actually be.

What Gets It Right

I believe the film's greatest strength lies in its commitment to showing older adults as fully realized, dynamic individuals. The lead actors inhabit characters who are genuinely interested and interesting - not despite their age, but as complete people navigating this stage of life with respect, dignity and agency. Their past lives and experiences are not ignored, but actually leveraged and celebrated. These aren't token elderly characters shuffled into minor roles; they're the driving force of the narrative, demonstrating competence, curiosity, and engagement with the world around them.

The setting itself becomes a character worth celebrating.

Rather than the sterile, institutional environments we often see in media portrayals of senior living, the community depicted here buzzes with activity and connection. Residents aren't isolated from the broader world. They are actively participating in it. From driving cars to taking public transportation to nearby villages they aren't shown isolated in a world filled with just older people. They maintain rich social lives both with the community in which they live as well as nurturing family relationships.

What I also appreciated was their living spaces reflect this vitality: beautiful, spacious apartments in a gorgeous building that honors both comfort and individuality, far removed from the cramped, cookie-cutter rooms that too often define aging in popular culture.

Perhaps most importantly, the film handles the realities of aging with remarkable empathy.

The portrayal of Helen Mirren's character caring for her husband with dementia, or the storyline involving a friend in a coma, demonstrates how the community supports members through various life challenges without falling into pity or melodrama. It's aging with grace, acceptance, and mutual support - exactly what I believe real communities should aspire to.

Where It Falls Short

Unfortunately, I found the murder mystery that serves as the film's central plot doesn't quite live up to the strength of its character work. The storyline felt a little underdeveloped to me, lacking the tight pacing and compelling twists that make for engaging crime drama.

Even more disappointing are the odd occaasional lapses into aging stereotypes - for example, when Helen Mirren disguises herself as a scared and timid older worman, is where the script falls back on tired tropes about older adults that felt jarringly out of place given the film's otherwise progressive approach.

The Bigger Picture

The Thursday Murder Club succeeds brilliantly in an area where Hollywood consistently fails: presenting aging as a vibrant, meaningful stage of life rather than something to be feared or pitied. While the mystery may not keep you on the edge of your seat, the film's authentic portrayal of an engaged, supportive community of older adults offers something far more valuable is a vision of aging that's both realistic and inspiring.

For anyone seeking better representation of older adults on screen, this film is great viewing. For those looking purely for entertainment value, it may not be an "on the edge of your seat whodunnit", but I think the positive messaging about aging still makes it well worth the watch.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars for positive aging representation | 3/5 stars as pure entertainment