“Enola Holmes” Review

The Netflix movie “Enola Holmes” is based on the book’s series of the same name by Nancy Springer. The film is a high-spirited mystery starring Millie Bobby Brown, Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill, Sam Clafin and Louis Partridge. The film centers around Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes’ little sister Enola who while searching for her missing mother uses her detecting skills to get ahead of her big brother Sherlock and help a runaway viscount. 

The film was a fun, lighthearted story that had me watching all the way up to the end. Brown plays a charming, quick-witted spitfire Enola who uses her skills and intellect to navigate her way around London with Lord Viscount Marqui Tewksbury of Basilweather (Partridge). Cavill plays a convincing Sherlock along with Clafin as Mycroft, the serious control freak of a brother. The storyline isn’t in the traditional tone of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classics but does carry the same blithe tone with Enola’s positive outlook throughout the movie, which makes for a great family film.

Partridge and Brown’s chemistry throughout the film provides a great developing subplot for the audience to hang onto which makes it so the film isn’t one note with just one “mystery” to solve. Brown does a great job of transitioning her roles of a more dramatic character to a lighthearted, easy-going protagonist. 

A critique I have is that the film is a little long for the content and the tone takes an almost sudden twist that didn’t make too much sense for me. Another thing is that the beginning of the film focuses on one sort of point but then when it does shift to another track it doesn’t get back to how the film started until the very end. Other than that, it’s a good film with great actors for the roles.

“Enola Holmes” is a more family-friendly take on the Sherlock Holmes storyline with upbeat fourth wall breaking characters and turns that will keep the audience watching the whole time. Cavill and Brown’s chemistry entertain the more heartfelt relationship that Conan Doyle’s books don’t have which makes for a more relatable character in Sherlock Holmes. The film is a fun loving introduction to the adolescent Enola who takes on a character of her own beautifully portrayed by Brown.