Mark Reviews Movies: ENOLA HOLMES

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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 22, 2020

Arthur Conan Doyle never revealed much about the past or, save for one brother, family of his iconic detective. It makes perfect sense that Sherlock Holmes would never reveal such information. He's a private man, lost in his work. He's also a man who doesn't know or particularly care that the Earth revolves around the sun. The subject never arose in any of his cases, so that knowledge possesses no relevance in Holmes' mind.

The absence of such biographical information has led to some speculation on the part of the character's most faithful. More to the point in the case of Enola Holmes, it also has led to some narrative imagination on the part of authors and filmmakers (Holmes' recent entrance into the public domain almost certainly means we'll be seeing a lot more adaptations and re-adjustments of lore surrounding the character). For example, the film in question is an adaptation of Nancy Springer's young adult book series, which supposes that the world-famous detective had a younger, teenaged sister, whose own upbringing, apparently similar to her elder brother's, imbued her with just as much confidence and competence as Sherlock.

It's a clever idea, but Jack Thorne's screenplay and director Harry Bradbeer don't simply coast on the concept. We get a real, authentic mystery—two of them, in fact—to go along with the introduction of this new character.

The central case is a solid one, having to do with a runaway aristocrat who's about the same age as the upstart detective and a potentially murderous conspiracy revolving around a vote in the House of Lords to enact sweeping political reforms across Great Britain. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) must also try to solve the mystery of her missing mother, who disappears and leaves only a few clues—which may or may not suggest that she wants to be found.

The main reason this film works, though, is that we get a sense of Enola—how she's similar to her detective brother and, more vitally, how she veers from his attitude that the only things of any real concern are those that pertain to whatever mystery he's trying to solve. Enola was raised, we learn through a constant series of flashbacks, to be methodical in her observations, to always be learning, to stand up for herself if it should come to a fight, and to think primarily of her own well-being. Her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) also taught her daughter to forge her own path, and by the end of this tale (surely intended to become a series), we have a clear-eyed notion of what that path will look like for Enola, based on her attitudes and actions and belief that people are more important than the game of the mystery.

Eudoria Holmes—mother to Enola and her older brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill, whose charismatic power here is so overwhelming that we ultimately don't care he's completely miscast) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin)—has disappeared. The brothers, who have been absent so long that they don't recognize their little sister, return to their childhood home, with Sherlock determined to solve the case and Mycroft resolute in getting Enola to a boarding school, where she'll learn to become a "proper" lady. Enola won't allow her brothers the chance to interfere with her own investigation and the course of her life, so with some clues (a key for deciphering messages and an address) and a boy-ish disguise (using Sherlock's old clothes), the teen hops on a train to London.

On the train, she encounters the young Lord Tewksbury (Louis Partridge), heir to an aristocratic title and a seat in the House of Lords, also in disguise. He's on the run from a plot to kill him, and when an assassin attempts to finish that job, Enola comes to the rescue and helps the runaway arrive in London. There, the girl discovers some troubling things about her mother, while Sherlock's own detective work, Mycroft's determination to change his ward's attitude, and the conspiracy against the young aristocrat get closer and closer to Enola.

Each of these challenges—the missing mother, the threatened aristocrat, the goal to teach the rebelliousness out of the protagonist—tells us something about Enola. Through flashbacks of Eudoria's lessons and some fourth wall-breaking narration (As effective as Brown is in the role, these moments still come across as forced), we get the character's education in critical thinking, puzzle-solving, fighting, and everything else an aspiring, adventurous detective needs to succeed.

In struggling against Mycroft's plans to re-educate her, as well as a brief stop at the boarding school (run by Fiona Shaw's strict, unforgiving headmistress, who has a slightly creepy crush on Mycroft), we see Enola's resilience, not only against others telling her what to do or whom she should be, but also against the contemporary social order of Victorian Britain. As the mother's secret schemes and the political backdrop of the plot against Tewksbury become clearer, the film shows some surprising thoughtfulness and nuance in its message about the need and methods of societal change.

The most effective element of the main character, though, is what she isn't. Enola isn't a mere carbon copy of her, at this moment, more accomplished and more famous detective brother. She's inspired and influenced by him and her mother (and in revolting against what Mycroft stands for), but there's some rebellious mischief, social awareness, and genuine compassion beneath the girl's actions and beliefs. Enola is a distinct and engaging character, and Enola Holmes definitely makes us look forward to another one or two or more of her adventures.

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