Movie Plot – Enola Holmes: On the day of her sixteenth birthday, Enola (or better known as the sister of Sherlock Holmes) wakes up and discovers that her mother has disappeared. Now she’s on a quest to find her mother!
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Writer: Jack Thorne
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge
Who is Enola Holmes?
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is the youngest sister in the famous Holmes family. She is a free-spirited, strong-willed, and groundbreaking young woman. On top of that, Enola is extraordinarily intelligent, perceptive, and insightful, and she defies the social norms for women of the time. Her mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), taught her everything from chess to jujitsu and encouraged her to read every book in their house, Ferndell Hall, and she is a big fan of word games.
This is the first time we see a movie about Enola Holmes. We’ve had many different variations of Sherlock Holmes, both young and old. However, never a film about his sister. Now, we finally get an Enola Holmes film! Also, this is an empowering female movie.
I was pleasantly surprised by Millie Bobby Brown as Enola. I’ve only seen her in Stranger Things, one of the best tvs shows right now! And yes, she’s also done other things, but I haven’t seen those yet. She was young, energetic, and entertaining to watch. What I truly loved was the fourth wall breaking. For some reason, that made her character very likable. Even if it was only a wink from time to time.
Let’s go look for mom!
When the mother disappears, Sherlock and Mycroft come along. Mycroft is annoyed with his own sister and wants her to go to a strict school, while Sherlock finds her a smart girl. Shortly after, Elona finds clues and money left behind by her mother and escapes, disguised as a boy. If you’re wondering why, it’s because she wants to run away from her brothers, especially Mycroft.
She finds the young viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) hidden in a travel bag on the train. She thinks he’s a fool but warns him that a man, Linthorn (Burn Gorman), wearing a brown bowler hat, is looking for him on the train. Quickly, it seems to be more dangerous than that, and they have to escape. Enola and Tewkesbury, therefore, jump out of the train together and flee to London.
Suddenly Enola has two mysteries to solve: her missing mother and why Tewkesbury is in danger.
Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes
Okay, I have to talk about this one because it isn’t a typical choice. The man behind the Man of Steel is playing Sherlock. He physically doesn’t look the detective. However, they hide his strong muscular body well under his clothes.
How much as I love Henry Cavill, he doesn’t feel like Sherlock Holmes at all. Just to be clear, I like to see him on the screen, but he’s not Sherlock Holmes. In this film he is just far too sympathetic and shows a lot of empathy. Sherlock Holmes is known to show little empathy and for being quite sarcastic. And sometimes even a bit self-centered, although I might exaggerate that a bit. Henry Cavill was the opposite in this film.
It’s a fun movie
Although the very youngest may struggle with the more than 2 hours, Enola Holmes offers a lot of fun and a universal message of empowerment that viewers of many ages can enjoy, especially the girls and young women. It is also an excellent vehicle for the main actress, who can finally show a wide range of acting skills beyond “Stranger Things”. But usually it’s just fun to finally have a movie that doesn’t feel heavy.
As far as the detective aspect is concerned, it is a bit disappointing. I didn’t think it was mind-blowing, and the reveals felt weak. Another thing I loved about many Sherlock movies was the “detective thinking.” And that’s what I missed in this movie, although it’s about Enola and not Sherlock.
Conclusion
Enola Holmes is a nice change from the Sherlock saga, and I hope there will be many more sequels.
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