For the most part, I enjoyed the recent BBC series Sherlock. It fell apart a bit in its final season, and I felt the idea that Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes had a sister of some kind every bit as brilliant as they were intriguing but ultimately poorly realized. The idea that Sherlock could have a smart sister is a great one if its done right.
The new Netflix movie Enola Holmes, adapted from a popular YA novel series, tries to do the same thing. Will it succeed where Sherlock fell short?
Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown stars as Enola Holmes, the youngest Holmes sibling who has been growing up in the English countryside with her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) as company. It’s an unconventional childhood for a Victorian age girl of means, and she’s probably what would be considered a spunky tomboy by 21st century standards. She knows literature, science, martial arts, and a host of other things totally befitting any member of the Holmes family.
Then one day, Eudoria disappears and Enola has to call the two brothers she barely knows to help find their mother. Middle brother Sherlock (Henry Cavil) is already a brilliant, established detective, but oldest brother Mycroft (Sam Clafin), as controller of the estate, is a bit of a stick-in-the-mud who doesn’t care much what happens to his sister as long as she starts acting like a proper lady. Sherlock, accused of being emotionally distant, at least seems inclined to try to relate to the girl, but as middle child he has no say in what happens to her. Naturally, Enola being a Holmes, finds some clues to her mother’s disappearance and makes a run for it.
Not long after she escapes, she meets another runaway, a young nobleman named Tewkesberry (Louis Partridge). He’s due to become a member of the House of Lords where he may be casting the deciding vote on a women’s suffrage law (he’s for it). But first he wants away from his family, and Enola can’t help but notice a man (Burn Gorman) also looking for Tewkesberry, and this guy is clearly up to no good. Enola wants to find her mother, but she also recognizes that Tewkesberry needs her help and that Mycroft is looking for her. Sherlock (with no sign of Dr. Watson) is looking into things on his own, but Enola needs to decide who she will be: someone who will help others or someone who will only help herself. And maybe she can do both things at once.
I quite enjoyed this. Brown, who I didn’t know was English so she’s getting to use what I am guessing is her regular accent for once, is a delightfully charming lead. She narrates directly to the camera quite often, breaking the fourth wall with a plucky charisma that suits the lead character well. She brings quite a bit of “girl power” to the role and the era that is entirely appropriate. And even though she is accomplished in many ways, the movie doesn’t make her unstoppable. Though proficient in judo, she also tends to be a bit smaller than the people she opts to fight so she doesn’t often do well. The mystery itself is satisfying, and Cavil has a nice take on Sherlock Holmes. He’s professional, but a lot warmer than he’s often depicted as. Really, this was a great all-ages sort of adventure/mystery movie. If we can’t go to the movies (and right now we shouldn’t), and if we can at least Netflix and other streaming services can continues to give us charming movies like this, then we can still have a good time with a good movie.
Grade: A
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