Film Review: Enola Holmes Has Her Own Game Afoot

Enola Holmes is a film recently released on Netflix and is based on a series of novels by Nancy Springer. Harry Bradbeer is the director of this film with Jack Thorne credited as the screenwriter. Millie Bobby Brown plays the title role, who is the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin play the better known Holmes brothers. Helena Bonham Carter, Burn Gorman, and Louis Partridge are also included in the cast.

With older brothers already living in London, young Enola Holmes has her mother all to herself as she comes to age. Enola’s intellect is about what’s expected from this particular Holmes family. One day, she awakens and finds that her mother has disappeared. Sherlock and Mycroft believe that they need to send Enola to a boarding school. She has other ideas and makes her escape so she can search for her mother. Along the way, she encounters a young runaway viscount who has an assassin on his trail. She must dodge the efforts from her brothers to find her as she tries to fulfill her own mission.

I had a bit of a mixed reaction to this film, but I think it works out fairly over well. In order for me to get any enjoyment out this, I had to let go of my purist tendencies when it comes to Sherlock Holmes.

So Enola Holmes likes to break the fourth wall and speak directly to the viewers. I found that to be a nice touch for this type of film. There is quite a bit of humor. Although I have my doubts about the decision to cast Cavill as Sherlock Holmes, I thought Millie Bobby Brown was quite engaging in the lead role. I was not that keen on how Claflin’s Mycroft Holmes was presented. Mycroft was quite a bit more rigid and somewhat crueler than he was presented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I think this takes place before the good Doctor Watson enters the scene. He wasn’t a part of this story.

So, it actually turns out to be a charming film. It looks great visually. Victorian London is well realized by the set designers and so forth. They got the right actress in the lead. It’s not all that faithful to Doyle’s creation, there is enough to enjoy for me to forgive that. I ended up enjoying it a little more than I expected.