Enola Holmes

Enola Holmes follows the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown. Enola escapes her brothers’ care to London in the search for her mother who has disappeared. Here she meets Tewkesbury played by Louis Partridge who is escaping his duties as a Lord. Together they solve the mysteries of each of their families and figure out who they are and what they want in life.

Overall, I enjoyed watching this film, it’s light and fun. However, it lacks depth in terms of story and characters. The two Sherlock brothers have very little character development or arch at all. The mystery of her mother’s disappearance is not completely revealed leaving a lot open for discussion. What does her mother do? What does this secret organization do and why? There are also many characters whose roles are not important to the story or move the plot along at all. The story moves towards this subplot with Tewkesbury and his family issues instead of Enola’s story with her mother. In the end, the mother’s whereabouts are never answered and left open-ended, and Enola's storyline is lost in the mix.


As a fan of Stranger Things, it is always fun to watch Millie Bobby Brown as she is such a talented actor. In this film, I feel like her talent is wasted on this average story with an average character. They could have picked any actor for this role, but it wouldn’t have gotten the same attention it did if Millie was not on the project. I think this film is an example of the power popular actors have on a project.


The one thing that stood out to me in this film was the actors. I think they worked with what they were given, which was not much. Aside from Milly Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Helena Bonham Carter and Fiona Shaw were great, whereas the rest was pretty average. I would have liked to see more of Helena Bonham Carter who plays Enola’s mother and Fiona Shaw who plays Miss. Harrison. I think Miss Harrison’s character and her school which was supposedly so evil was heavily underutilized. She is one of this film's five ‘bad guys’ that have such little development I was not scared of any one of them.


So, is it a good movie? It is nothing groundbreaking but it is fun to watch. I think if you are just looking for something joyful to watch on Netflix, it’s a great choice. If you are looking for a serious mystery or something really out there, this isn’t it. It is not a terrible film though and it reminded me a lot of Robert Downey Jr's Dolittle. However, I found the film acts as an introduction for the younger generation into the Sherlock Holmes film and tv franchise. I liked the film's childlike view of Sherlock and if you are a fan of the franchise and character you may enjoy this more than others.