Before embarking on the adventure this film manifests, the viewers must ask themselves a few simple questions. First, are they looking to watch a scintillating investigation that leaves them pondering the outcome until the very end? Second, are they ready to be on the edge of their seats during a high paced crime epic? Finally, they must ask if they are eager to see the same wit and fun with a new Holmes in the lead?
If any of the answers are yes, then this is not the film for you.
Enola Holmes, directed by Harry Bradbeer, is a Netflix Original that focuses on the adventures of the younger sister to the famous Sherlock Holmes. After the disappearance of her mother, Enola sets out on trying to discover what happened and where she is.
However, during her investigation she runs into a wealthy boy that is being hunted by an assassin, thus altering her investigation toward the goal of solving his dilemma. Millie Bobby Brown transforms into an investigator as Enola Holmes, and Louis Partridge is the boy that acts as her sidekick. The rest of the main cast includes Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes, Sam Claflin as Mycroft Holmes, and Helena Carter as Eudoria Holmes.
The biggest problem with this film is that it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. The opening 15 minutes sets up Enola’s genius psyche and her crazy ability to solve the smallest of problems. It sets up her skills and while the film does use them several times during the investigation, it rushes through the abilities and doesn’t give the viewer a chance to try and solve the dilemma too; the film skips over the audience and has Enola solve everything without too much suspension.
The film also sets up Enola to be this pro-feminism character who doesn’t need the tropes of a man to save her or be her companion, and then uses that trope as an unneeded clutch later in the film. The back setting is of women fighting for the right to vote, which makes the trope all the more hostile and out of place.
While Enola stays independent for the majority of the film, the awful infusion of a potential love interest only sours the viewers’ tastes, due to the expectation that just like she is independent from her famous brother, she would also be independent from the Hollywood trope of needing a male counterpart to hide plot holes. Not to mention the fact that Partridge’s character feels somewhat forced and poorly written.
Another glaring concern I had was with the negligence towards the plot; the plot is atrocious. It starts with Enola geared to finding her missing/runaway mother, which from the setup isn’t that interesting of a challenge. Then the plot switches up to Enola trying to help the wealthy boy escape the grasps of an assassin. Next the plot sees Enola abandon the boy to find her mother, only to decide that she has feelings for him and wants to help him solve his assassin situation. Not only was the plot all over the place, but it was also very predictable and dumb, with the reveals at the end lacking the surprise and cleverness it hoped to have.
The one silver lining in this story is the performances, and specifically Henry Cavill’s take on Sherlock Holmes. He creates an outstanding persona and every time he is on screen, the excitement for the potential of the film builds. He is even given the best scene, which occurs towards the end. However, when he wasn’t there the film was back to its subpar level. Millie Bobby Brown was great as Enola, bringing her wits and personality to life. Helana Carter was a good fit for the mother but, aside from Cavill, no actor gave a worthwhile performance.
While not a terrible experience, this film is not worth skipping plans to watch, as the plot is horrendous and the film struggles to find an identity for itself. However, after seeing Cavill’s take on Sherlock, I must admit that I am hoping for a standalone film with him as the lead.
