Why is “Thursday Murder Club” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violent content/bloody images, strong language and some sexual references.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a drawn depiction of male genitalia, a few kisses and sexual innuendo, several scenes depicting a woman who was stabbed to death and fell out a window, several scenes showing puddles of blood, discussions of fatal injuries, a skeleton, and at least 2 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

A group of retirees (Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley) residing at a posh retirement home in the English countryside, investigate cold murder cases for fun; soon after they recruit a new member (Celia Imrie) however, they find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery within their own community. Also with David Tennant, Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. Directed by Chris Columbus. [Running Time: 1:58]

Thursday Murder Club SEX/NUDITY 5

 – During a still life drawing class, a woman draws the model (whose genitals are covered) as having exposed genitals; we see a detailed drawn penis and testicles a couple of times.
► A man admits to having an affair with another man’s wife and shows a photo of them cuddling in bed together; part of his bare torso is visible and it is implied the woman is nude (she is covered by sheets). A husband and his wife exchange a brief kiss in a few scenes. A man kisses a woman’s hand in greeting in a few scenes.
► A man talks on the phone about his divorce proceedings. He shouts, “It was one shag!” (suggesting he was unfaithful to his wife) and that “This is an overreaction of [anatomical term deleted] proportions.” A woman says that she wants her retirement home to start hosting fully nude models for drawing classes. A man argues with another man and yells, “What, are you remembering the days when you last got it up?” A woman asks a man about baking and says he must be good with his hands; he replies, “I’ve heard that a few times.” A husband tells his wife that a species of bird mates for life, “Just like us.” People discuss their marital status; one man says he is a confirmed bachelor, another man says he has been divorced twice, a woman says she is widowed, and another woman says she is still married. A man says that the llamas he cares for are out of control, “Like rabbits.”
► Men are shown shirtless in a few scenes (once in a pool, and once in a still life drawing class) and their bare torsos are visible. A man wears only a shirt and underwear, pretending to be drunk and asleep.

Thursday Murder Club VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A woman screams and is thrown through a second-story window (we don’t see the assailant); glass shatters and she falls and we see her strike the ground with a knife in her abdomen (we see blood soaking her clothes and a puddle of blood on the ground); we see the same image in crime scene photos in several scenes and a masked man is shown fleeing the building in a few scenes. At a crime scene, a dead man lies on the floor of his home; we hear that he has been bludgeoned to death and we see a puddle of blood under his head. After being shoved by a crowd, a man turns to shout at them, but he collapses, a woman rushes to his aid and says that he is dead.
► A man rushes into an apartment and punches another man in the face. Two men get into a screaming argument: one man shoves the other and storms off. People are forcefully arrested in a few scenes; their arms are wrenched behind their backs and they are handcuffed.
► A woman panics that her husband has been poisoned; another woman examines his eyes and pulse and says he seems all right. A man cuts roses and his hands are streaked with blood, presumably from the thorns; he brandishes the clippers threateningly several times.
► It is implied that a man takes his own life, and then euthanizes his comatose wife with overdoses of fentanyl (we see their coffins). A person admits to killing someone, saying it was self-defense. People exchange threats of violence in several scenes. A man warns another that a man is dangerous and could kill him; the other man replies that he knows martial arts and is dangerous himself. A man tells another man that he “Won’t get away with this” and “You don’t mess with us.” A man threatens a woman not to “Wake the dead.” A man breaks into a woman’s home and leaves a bouquet of flowers with a threatening message to “back off” written on a card. A man threatens a woman’s friend, and she tells him if anything happens to her friend, “I will personally lay a dozen blood red roses on your coffin.” People discuss unsolved murders in many scenes; they describe fatal injuries, including stab wounds, bleeding out, dismembered body parts in a mailbox, falling from a two-story window, and being poisoned with fentanyl. In several scenes, people accuse others of murder, and of being hired by someone else to commit murder. In several scenes, people discuss a known organized crime boss who has a reputation for cutting off people’s fingers and mailing them to his enemies; a police officer says Scotland Yard has a “freezer full” of fingers. People discuss domestic abuse, specifically men assaulting their female partners and killing them. People discuss a man who was shot while in military service and had a lifelong injury to his knee and we see a man limping. A woman says that llamas can be nasty, biting and spitting at people; her mother replies that humans are known to do the same. People discuss relatives who have died, who are suffering from dementia, and who are in hospice care. People discuss a human trafficking scheme of bringing immigrants into a country to work and taking away their passports so they can’t leave. Police officers discuss a man’s criminal record, including reckless driving, assault, and illegal weapons possession. A woman mentions interrogating enemy spies in the past, during the Cold War. A man discusses his past career as a psychiatrist, treating soldiers with PTSD. People discuss a man’s former career as a prizefighter and an injury that ended his career. A man makes a joking comment about another man being incontinent.
► A woman pretends that her bag was stolen and cries in a police station. We see a woman in hospice care and she lies unconscious in bed. People attend a funeral in a cemetery and cry. We see a skeleton in an excavated grave in a few scenes.

Thursday Murder Club LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 2 F-words, 3 written or spoken as “WTF,” 5 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 20 mild obscenities, name-calling (plonker, cantankerous old [scatological term deleted], sod), 15 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, Christ, God, good God, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Thursday Murder Club SUBSTANCE USE

 – We see prescription pills and syringes in several scenes, and people discuss fatal quantities of prescription drugs like fentanyl. Adults order and drink beer and wine in several scenes, two women drink canned alcoholic drinks on a bus and one woman makes a joking gesture that implies the other woman is an alcoholic, a man pretends to be drunk while holding a bottle of beer and snoring loudly, and a woman says that a cake is full of rum and that a police officer’s partner should drive if he eats any.

Thursday Murder Club DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Aging, family, grief and loss, murder and cold cases, organized crime, dementia, retirement, friendship.

Thursday Murder Club MESSAGE

 – Being old does not mean you’re either infirm or senile.