Enola Holmes

Hello hello everyone. So only recently, Niamh mentioned ‘Enola Holmes’ on the blog and I decided to give it a watch and review it for all you lovely people. Now, I’m going to do my best to keep this brief but there’s a lot of good things to say about this movie and not all of them have to do with Henry Cavill looking like he was having the time of his life as Sherlock. So I watched the movie based solely on Niamh’s recommendation and she told me Henry was in it but, big bonus for me, so was Sam Claflin. So, let’s get to it shall we?

Enola Holmes is a 2020 American mystery film based on the first book in the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer, starring Millie Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Sam Claflin, with Henry Cavill and Helena Bonham-Carter. It was directed by Harry Bradbeer.

Enola (whose name backwards is alone) is the teenage sister of none other than famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his, ah, how do I say it?…somewhat elitist brother, Mycroft. But, when Enola discovers their mother has vanished, she not only outwits her detective brother and uncovers the deadly plot surrounding the disappearance of a young Lord, she also decides to make the effort to travel to London to find their mother as well. Enola utilizes all her wits and intelligence to uncover what her mother is up to but also manages to stay one step ahead of Sherlock.

Personally, I’d never seen Millie Bobby Brown act before. I had no interest in Stranger Things so I heard only good things about her from fans but managed to miss her acting entirely; I have no idea how I managed it but I have to say that Millie was superb as Enola. She was matter of fact and blunt, much like a good Holmes detective should be, but, as well as that, Millie as Enola was a huge advocate for being whoever you want to be. We see Enola in outfits to suit all occasions and refusing to sit in the box that Mycroft insists she belongs in. Individuality is a big part of Enola’s identity; she does things her way and essentially couldn’t give a toss about societies “rules.” Right on sister!

Now, onto the Holmes men in our film. Henry Cavill seems to have a great old time playing the detective who essentially is the icon of detective fiction and it shows. This Sherlock is a bit more caring and sympathetic towards Enola, perhaps because she reminds him of himself, and, personally, I really enjoyed this version of Sherlock; a fresh take on a old character. Cavill’s Sherlock is warmer and a little more human when compared to Sam Claflin’s Mycroft. Claflin hits the “I’m the oldest and therefore in charge” persona so well. Even with his siblings in the room, this Mycroft insists on having things his way and, especially with Enola and Sherlock as your siblings, that could never happen. These three Holmes are the epitome of siblings and I’m hoping to see more of them if there are sequels made which I really hope there will be.

Fast-paced, clever, and hugely entertaining, there is plenty of wit and fourth wall breaking which means that we don’t need your standard narrator because we have Enola filling us in as we go along. Besides, narrating always feels like a massive info dump at the beginning of the movie, this method makes the viewer part of the story, traveling along with Enola as a confidant. There is certainly no lack of action or humour in a story about individuality and freedom and it’s streaming right now on Netflix. Go watch it. Go!