ENOLA HOLMES

Enola Holmes released on Netflix September 23rd 2020 Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Fiona Shaw, Louis Partridge, Frances De La Tour Directed by Harry Bradbeer, Written by Jack Thorne (screenplay) and Nancy Springer (novel)

This reviews contains very very minor spoilers.

Enola Holmes is a delightful, charming coming-of-age mystery action thriller led by Millie Bobby Brown. It is a fresh and colourful approach to the familiar Sherlock Holmes universe we’re accustomed to, filled with comedic breaking-of-the-fourth-wall moments and enough heart and intrigue to keep viewers of all ages hooked.

After living a secluded, free-spirited childhood Enola wakes on her 16th birthday to find her mother missing, and before long has to tackle real-life issues as she becomes her older brother Mycroft’s ward. More interested in ensuring she becomes a proper lady than helping her find their unorthodox mother, the strict traditionalist Mycroft is set on sending Enola to a young Women’s Finishing School. Enola, however, has other plans - but as she embarks on a quest to London to find her mother, she ends up unravelling another mystery surrounding a young lord named Tewkesbury.

A coming-of-age story, Millie Bobby Brown is very much front and centre - but surrounded by an impressive array of supporting actors such the ever-delightful Helena Bonham-Carter, Frances De La Tour, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin and the incredible Fiona Shaw who brings gravitas to the story. Despite the presence of her brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (as well as a few scenes with Lestrade) Enola Holmes is very much her own thing as opposed to simply ‘Sherlock’s younger sister’: Cavill and Claflin’s roles are supporting roles only. Millie Bobby Brown successfully establishes the tone of the film through the fourth-wall breaking, displaying charm and wit - the perfect role to cement herself as a capable lead young actor (Brown also had the role of producer). Enola Holmes feels like the first chapter of a franchise.

POLITICS & THEMES OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

The mystery plots surrounding both Enola’s mother Eudoria and the young lord Tewkesbury are more political than you’d expect: just deep enough to have an effect, but light enough as to not lose its younger audience. With that being said, it’s intelligent and at times unexpectedly violent, something that a lot of ’family’ films often neglect. Enola’s mother Eudoria is involved in the suffragette movement, just one of the themes of female empowerment in the film. However Enola Holmes is careful not to be too on-the-nose with this, letting these themes simply develop organically with the plot.

Enola Holmes introduces some great secondary characters too, such as Susan Wokomba as waitress-jujitsu trainer-suffragette Edith who shares a poignant scene with Henry Cavill, as well as Fiona Shaw as the strict Miss Harrison and Adeel Akhtar as the eager Lestrade. Henry Cavill approaches the role of Sherlock with unexpected gentleness and care, a refreshing take on the often times insufferable character. These characters paint a more diverse victorian London than we are used to seeing in Sherlock Holmes screen adaptations, a truly welcome sight.

Enola Holmes brings a breath of fresh air to the Sherlock mythos: a beautiful, colourful production which captures the picturesque English countryside and an energetic Victorian London. The film runs at a quick pace, filled with bright and elegantly crafted costumes, the sets full of detail which capture the mysterious and at times whimsical feel of the story. The mysteries unravel in an entertaining manner, and although may be a little predictable at times, remains very much enjoyable for the whole family.

It’s the perfect end of summer blockbuster that the pandemic has denied us. Enola Holmes is possibly the best produced film to come out of Netflix yet, with a gorgeous score by Daniel Pemberton (very reminiscent of the early Harry Potter themes) and smooth cinematography by Giles Nuttgens. With a lot of cinemas still shut and as studios continue to post-pone their big-budget films, naturally audiences have been craving a more cinematic piece of entertainment: Enola Holmes ticks all of these boxes and delivers a genuinely enjoyable and more importantly optimistic film that will satisfy viewers of all ages, not to mention a morale boost that we could all use in these times.