Enola Holmes | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I knew absolutely nothing about this film until the day before it came out, when it trended on Twitter and people started talking about it. It seemed vaguely interesting (though I have never been particularly interested in Sherlock Holmes as a character), and so I thought I'd see if it was any good.

Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is the sister of famous detective Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). But when she discovers a mystery of her own, Enola must leave home and enter the world, to discover the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

I enjoyed this movie. The plot is simple, but it does a lot with the story.

One of the things that makes the film stand out is the fourth-wall breakage, and Enola's voiceover. Not only was this really effective, but it also felt extremely necessary, particularly for a film like this with such a popular backdrop.   

Speaking of the backdrop, as you could probably guess, the film uses the popular character of Sherlock Holmes (and his brother Mycroft, played by Sam Claflin) as part of the backdrop for Enola's story. And again, this is done really effectively. This is definitely not a Sherlock Holmes that we've seen before, mainly because the film does not show him in his natural habitat. Instead, we get a Sherlock who is human, and who has an undeniable soft-spot for his little sister. He doesn't spend a  lot of time solving mysteries, and we don't really need him to. That's what Enola is for.

Speaking of Enola, she is a great protagonist, and all-in-all a really interesting, well written character. If another Sherlock Holmes movie was going to be made, I'm glad it was made with her at the helm. And Millie Bobby Brown played her extremely well.

Speaking of Millie Bobby Brown (who also produced the film), the whole film was casted really well. It felt like a stroke of genius to have her, Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin playing siblings, but it was also great that Helena Bonham Carter was cast as their mother. The interactions between Enola and Eudoria are really beautiful, and that is down to the great chemistry that these actresses shared. And this chemistry was also shared between Enola and Tewkesbury, played by Louis Partridge. All of the actors had great chemistry, and it felt like they really bonded, which added so much to the movie.

Having said this, one thing that I didn't really like about the movie was that there were times when many of the male characters felt really two-dimensional. While it is integral for Enola to be the main character, to do this, Sherlock and Mycroft's characters felt a bit diluted, and as a result less fleshed out and developed.

And then there's the ending, which was fine, but felt very predictable.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, entertaining film that will not leave audiences with lingering feelings for any character but Enola. 

6.5/10

Lou