Alan Cox gives Young Sherlock Holmes a friendship worth watching, making a self-assured Holmes tolerable company. We recommend him on the strength of that partnership, rather than assuming his smaller film parts tell the whole story.
Fi1m perspective
Nicholas Rowe’s Holmes is sure of himself; Alan Cox’s Watson gives him someone worth talking to. In Barry Levinson’s Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), the pleasure is in how readily the two seem to take an interest in each other, rather than simply waiting for their next useful line. We warmed to them more quickly than we expected, because Cox makes the friendship credible while allowing Holmes his assurance. Before the mystery has properly established itself, another adventure with these two already seems an agreeable prospect.
Cox’s Watson matters as much as Rowe’s Holmes, although the title gives no indication of it. Wanting to spend more time with the pair makes us more forgiving when the mystery gives way to effects and action. The film remains entertaining, but liking its leads does not mean we stop noticing how much less interesting their adventure becomes when the spectacle takes over.
There is no tidy screen progression from that teenage Watson to a succession of leading roles. The film work instead includes supporting appearances in Mike Newell’s An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) and Mrs Dalloway (1997), with Cox as Geoffrey and young Peter respectively. His work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, and his Vanya in Terry Johnson’s stage adaptation of Uncle Vanya (2018), make the screen credits an incomplete account. We would be wary of treating the size of those film parts as a measure of what he can do.
The distinction matters with Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023), in which Cox plays Roger Rattigan. Our disappointment concerns the neglected ensemble, the shortage of jokes and the long wait for a worthwhile finale. We would not recommend it merely for having him in the cast. Start with Young Sherlock Holmes for Cox and Rowe, and allow for an adventure that gets distracted by its effects.
Biography
Alan Cox is a British actor born on 6 August 1970 in London. He is the son of actors Brian Cox and Caroline Burt, and was educated at St Paul's School in London. He began acting as a child, with early television roles including a 1982 adaptation of A Voyage Round My Father.
Cox is best known for playing a teenage Dr Watson in Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). His other film credits include An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Mrs Dalloway (1997), The Auteur Theory (1999) and Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023), in which he played Roger Rattigan. He has also appeared in television series such as New Amsterdam (2018) and The Good Wife (2009), and in stage productions.
