Continuity mistake: During the fight scene with the contract killer in the apartment building, the killer's coat catches fire. As the scene and fight continues, the coat is no longer on fire. (01:16:30)
Factual error: The delivery van bringing gear for the walk has a 718 area code on it. That area code did not exist until 1984.
Factual error: It's set in 1951 and has the song 'I'll tell my ma' by the Dubliners which wasn't written until 1963.
Continuity mistake: SPOILER: The boy, Roger, finds a glove in a secret drawer in Mr. Holmes' room. The glove is lying perfectly flat in the drawer. It had supposedly been there for years unknown to Mr. Holmes. Later, in a flashback scene, it shows Dr. Watson putting the glove in the drawer. When he puts the glove in the secret drawer, it is not laid flat in the drawer - it has an obvious upward bend in the glove. Since the glove had been in the drawer, untouched, for years, it should have still had that upward bend.
Suggested correction: Although we are only shown Watson putting the glove in the drawer once there is no reason to suggest he may not have looked at it again before he left for good. More compellingly, Watson placed the glove in the drawer whilst the bureau was in place in Holmes' quarters in London, and it was not discovered until a quarter of a century later having been moved at some point to Holmes' house in Sussex. This journey could also easily have displaced the gloves position to some degree. The weight of papers contained in the drawer above may have also aided in flattening the glove out over the years.
Factual error: There are several scenes in a field of barley. Tramlines are seen. Tramlines in crops were invented in 1975 to allow tractors and sprayers to drive up and down fields. Sunset Song is set around 1914, 61 years before tramlines were invented.
Continuity mistake: When the two protagonists are introduced to the private room and watch Dan's video message, the clock in the background never moves despite the several minutes duration.
Revealing mistake: When Rachel has a red turban on and is supposed to be bald, you can see her hair under the turban.
Continuity mistake: When Penelope is sunbathing whilst Paul is on his laptop, she is face down with her head touching the lounger, but in the next shot, her head is suddenly raised above the lounger, then back to leaning against the lounger in the next shot.
Continuity mistake: Henry's assistant mentions Duquette calling; she has her arms lowered seen from behind, but when she replies that he didn't say the reason, she is holding the phone in front of her chest. (00:03:20)
Continuity mistake: The handful of yams (pureed) that Glory throws onto the left side of her bowl is spread out, relatively flat, and spans close to the bowl's rim. Suddenly, the yams are piled higher and further away from the bowl. The yams on both sides appear to vary, but other views are too short to be confirmed (without pausing). (00:48:11)
Character mistake: The protagonist is reading the review of his book "Bitter Tulips." The influential literary critic publication apparently has zero proofreading, since the article says that the novel "can be described as AN failed experiment." (00:45:00)
Other mistake: The town is Mt Barker. The red and blue ribbons on the sheep pen say Mt Baker.
Continuity mistake: When the young boy loads his bow and arrow while talking to his older brother, he does this twice without firing it. (00:53:55)
Factual error: Throughout the film, the helmet plates worn by the London Policemen are the 1930's pattern with the George V cypher in the centre. In 1912/13 they would have repeated the officer's collar number in the centre. The helmets themselves are also British military pattern blue cloth helmets with Police fittings added, rather than the correct Police pattern ones.
Factual error: A library assistant is showing his cellphone to a Fed. The Fed pulls out his gun and shoots the assistant from about 8 inches away into his left temple. Another Fed, standing to the immediate right of the assistant is shown after the shot. But there is no blood or material spray on him at all. His white shirt is immaculate. In fact, there is no blood anywhere.
Factual error: Summer and Carmen are at the saloon and catch on the local news the report of the kidnapping. The scene is set in Tuscany, Italy, but the news anchor is Spanish actress Paz Vega, speaking with an obvious accent and mispronouncing words. To make the whole situation even more absurd, she is supposed to portray a native Italian speaker, "Giulia Carni": the last name is Italian sounding but nonexistent in reality, and the headline used for the news report, "Nonna-napper", "kidnapper of grandmother" has such an awkward and unnatural sound and feel in Italian and for an Italian audience, that nobody ever would use it. (00:37:50)
Revealing mistake: At the cocktail party in his honor, Rita Richards introduces herself. Joaquin Phoenix's scotch is in a transparent plastic cup, and you notice what happens in most movies, here with particular clarity; when he brings it to his mouth, he does not take even a sip, but just pretends. (00:06:05)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the movie when Joy is in her airline's company uniform and getting ready to go to work, the knot on her scarf changes from loose to tight several times in the different shots.
Other mistake: When Otto Preminger calls Trumbo from his car to announce that Trumbo's real name would be credited for Exodus, Preminger tells him to look at the front page of the New York Times. The problem is that Trumbo has already picked up the paper from his counter and is reading before Preminger even tells him which newspaper features the article.
Continuity mistake: The resident bully approaches Mara once her rather embarrassing mum left. Mara turns around and tries to power her way out of the predicament; in the background, the girl with the bright red dress has her arm across her waist, but at the cut she has both arms behind her back. (00:02:40)