You do know what you're drinking is intended for eye surgery?

[elspethdixon]

Quick, flist, what did they use as a local anesthetic for eye surgery in the late 19th and early 20th century? Oh, right. Cocaine.

I feel like an idiot that I sat through the Sherlock Holmes movie twice without picking up on that, and that it took a third viewing before the blinding flash of the obvious hit me.

Clever way to sneak explicit cocaine use into your PG-13-rated movie (I have seen reviewers claim that Holmes does not do drugs in this movie. I'm not sure which movie they were watching, but it clearly wasn't the one I saw. Perhaps they went to get popcorn when Holmes re-enacts Blackwood's spell. And when Watson's trying to drag Holmes out of his rooms in the beginning).

Comments

[lotesse]

OH PANTS. Everything makes sense now. Amazing what the application of a little trivia can do - the drug use in that scene was bright as day, but I did wonder a bit at the absence of cocaine. Eye surgery? Cleeeever movie.

[effex]

Oh. Oh. I mean, he was obviously tripping in several scenes, and I knew whatever was in that bottle wasn't meant for consumption, but I thought they'd left the hardcore drug use off screen.

Well played, Ritchie.

[damned_colonial]

AUGH. I kind of hate myself for not figuring that out. You win!

[giglet]

Oh, excellent catch!

[onceamy]

*headesk*

I can't believe I missed that - I suppose it didn't connect that their interpretation of Holmes' drug use was that of a hallucinogen. I mean, I saw he was whacked, but cocaine doesn't give you hallucinations.