New Netflix original Enola Holmes adapts Nancy Springer’s book series The Adventures of Enola Holmes and will not disappoint you.
Rating: 3/5
The plot
Millie Bobby Brown, better known for her role as Eleven in Stranger Things, plays rebellious teenager Enola Holmes. On her 16th birthday, she faces the disappearance of her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter). An independent woman who has raised her daughter to read William Shakespeare, William Makepeace Thackeray, and the essays of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft; her mother additionally insists on the importance of learning martial arts and archery.
When Eudoria disappears, Enola’s adult brothers, Mycroft (Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill) try to find out what happened to her, while they attempt to enroll Enola in boarding school. However, the youngest Holmes sibling has other plans as she sets out to figure out what happened to the most important person in her life.
A modern-day mystery from the past
The film allows itself to fantasise about the possibility that the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, had a younger sister with the same deductive gifts as him. Yet, Enola Holmes is completely in tune with the ideals of 2020. This may not have happened if the character had had a contemporary creation to that of Sherlock Holmes.
On-screen chemistry
Beyond its message about the personal self-sufficiency of individuals and women, Enola Holmes is a mystery story combining two enigmas into one. In addition to the disappearance of her mother, Enola will end up helping the young Lord Tewksbury (Louis Partridge), who has run away from home and could be in serious danger. Unfortunately, there’s little chemistry between Enola and Tewkesbury and it’s telling that the movie is more entertaining when it’s just Enola on screen. There are politics involved with his mystery. The more interesting story that steals our attention is that of Enola’s mother and her connection to the suffrage movement.
Visuals
Director Harry Bradbeer decides to take some of the elements he used during his famous series Fleabag and incorporate them in the film. For example, the charismatic protagonist is often seen looking at the camera, breaking the fourth wall: speaking directly with the viewer. Enola uses this technique at the beginning of the film to explain what is happening. She continues to do so throughout the film, simply looking for complicity. This technique doesn’t work well here.
Feminist ideals
The film also gives us a much-needed history lesson. It tells us about the suffragettes who fought for the right to vote for women in the UK. Despite the missing mothers or the fight for the civil rights of British citizens, I don’t think this is simply a drama. Enola Holmes manages to maintain a light and comical tone during its two-hour runtime, while incorporating some action. This is especially apparent during the Millie combat scenes in which Enola shows us her knowledge of jiu-jitsu.
Final critique
As far as origin stories go, this tops them all. Enola Holmes does the trick of making you want to see where those future movies could potentially go. Even if the mystery chosen for the first outing is both overstuffed and uninteresting. Millie Bobby Brown makes the film work despite its evident flaws. Lastly, we just hope that the next Holmes outing will be worthy of her talent.