'Enola Holmes' A Review

 

Enola Holmes is an English mystery based on the book series of the same name about the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. The titular Enola(Millie Bobby Brown) is raised by her independent and eclectic mother Eudoria(Helen Bonham Carter) out of the way on their family estate but on Enola's 16th birthday her mother disappears and her brothers, Mycroft(Sam Claflin) and Sherlock(Henry Cavill), return to put her in a finishing school. She flees to London in search of her mother and meets an also on the run soon to be lord Tewkesbury(Louis Partridge). She must unravel the mystery of her mother's disappearance and why her new found friend is being stalked by a bowler wearing thug.

Brown is as charming as ever but there is a twee shallowness to her character and to the whole production which gives it a kid friendly Nickelodean style gloss, mildly entertaining but no particularly memorable. Carter is always a joy to see but her screentime is abjectly brief. Calflin as the sneering Mycroft is delicious as is the finishing school headmistress played by Fiona Shaw but they too have relatively small roles. Cavill is woefully miscast presumably this is some extension of his larger contract with Netflix, whatever the cause, snooze. Partridge as the defacto damsel-in-distress and love-interest is serviceable if relatively bland.

Picturesque if somewhat derivative in aesthetic, the production elements are all competent if not particularly inspired. A recurring motif of direct address in place of voice over doesn't particularly work but overall it's a successful piece of light entertainment aimed at the younger fans of Stranger Things.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Stream It.