Enola Holmes
This period comedy/thriller is a lot of fun, thanks largely to its talented cast, and in particular, Millie Bobby Brown’s mischievous central performance. Adults may feel that the main mystery is a little flat and predictable, but younger viewers (bearing in mind this is based on a series of Young Adult novels) might not have such concerns.
Premise: On her sixteenth birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes to discover that her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared. Her decision to call her older brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), only complicates matters further, but soon Enola is also distracted by a mystery involving a missing member of the British aristocracy.
Review:
This is very much Millie Bobby Brown’s movie, as she not only stars in it (and is in almost every scene), but she also produced the film (having fallen in love with the original books), and apparently came up with the idea of having the main character break the fourth wall (which is really one of the film’s most effective decisions). Both in front of the camera and behind it, Millie Bobby Brown is responsible for the most successful elements of the film.
The film takes place in a slightly heightened reality, but this is still a little more grounded than, say, the Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes films. Of course, Enola Holmes does not have a sidekick in the same way that Sherlock has Watson, which is what makes Millie Bobby Brown’s decision to break the fourth wall such a stroke of genius – the audience becomes the Watson to her Holmes. Plus, her asides to the camera are hugely entertaining, as Millie Bobby Brown channels her inner Ferris Bueller.
“…the adventurous & confident heroine should really appeal to pre-teens/teens…”
Anyone who’s seen Stranger Things will know that Millie Bobby Brown is a great actor, and here she effortlessly balances the comedic asides with the emotional moments, and scenes involving genuine jeopardy. In this regard, as fun and frothy as the film is for the most part, there are moments of more grounded violence that earn the film a 12-rating and which might make it unsuitable for younger children. That said, the tone of the film, and its adventurous and confident heroine, should really appeal to pre-teens/teens (I know I would have loved this film at that age).
Millie Bobby Brown is surrounded by a great supporting cast in the smaller (but presumably recurring, if the film is a success) roles. Henry Cavill appears as Sherlock Holmes, around 20 years Enola’s senior and already a famous detective of growing renown. Cavill brings an interesting new approach to the character (in a way that is only possible when the character is a supporting one and not the lead), demonstrating his emotional distance from the younger sister that he hardly knows, while also suggesting that they may be kindred spirits. The dynamic between the three Holmes siblings is also fascinating, as Sherlock takes the role of the middle sibling, who is torn between siding with the elder sibling who often looks down on him, and the younger sibling who he knows is perhaps making all the same mistakes that he has made.
“…the themes of equality, social injustice, feminism & universal suffrage run through the film…”
Sam Claflin, meanwhile, has the more straight-laced role, as this version of Mycroft is arguably not as intellectually gifted as his two younger siblings, and so has instead become obsessed with doing what is right and expected by society – which in this instance means ensuring that Enola looks and behaves like a proper lady in order to find herself a suitable husband. This is, of course, the opposite to how the free-spirited Eudoria Holmes, played by Helena Bonham Carter, has raised Enola, and her message that Enola should endeavour to find her own path in life so that others don’t choose one for her.
The themes of equality, social injustice, feminism and universal suffrage run through the entire film, but in a way that is very accessible to younger viewers (not that any of these concepts should be particularly difficult to grasp). These, coupled with Millie Bobby Brown’s lead performance as the aspirational but still relatable teen detective, should also be aspects that appeal in particular to pre-teen/teen audiences.
“…it’s fun spending a couple of hours in the characters’ company…”
If there is one weakness in the film, it’s that the central mysteries aren’t very, well, mysterious. The disappearance of Enola’s mother is the catalyst for the entire film, but that plot thread doesn’t really go anywhere (I presume because it will become part of an ongoing plot thread if there are further films based on the other five novels). In the meantime, “The Case of the Missing Marquess” (as the book which the film is based on is called) is a fairly straightforward and predictable mystery when all is said and done. But maybe that’s just the perspective of a cynical adult viewer, and younger viewers (like the readers of the Young Adult novels) may be less jaded.
All in all, there is a lot to enjoy in Enola Holmes, and in particular, in Millie Bobby Brown’s and Henry Cavill’s performances. At worst, it’s fun spending a couple of hours in their company (even if the actual mysteries are underwhelming), and at best, the target Young Adult audience could become hooked on the engaging heroine’s adventures. Either way, I hope they do continue the series, as I would love to see more of these characters, especially now that all of the set-up is out of the way.
