Enola Holmes

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Patridge, Burn Gorman, Adeel Akhtar, Fiona Shaw
Directed by: Harry Bradbeer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) mysteriously disappears, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is determined to track her down, especially since she gets no help from her brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin).

Review:

Tim: Netflix delivers a solid, entertaining film in Enola Holmes. The movie is ultimately a bit too lightweight for its own good, but this doesn't mean the movie isn't enjoyable. I had a fun time with the film and it's a movie I would certainly recommend.

When talking about the merits of Enola Holmes, the conversation has to begin with Millie Bobby Brown. I've been a big fan of her work on Stranger Things. It's been interesting to see her breaking into movies, even though many of those roles were fairly small. This is her big opportunity for a meaty lead role and she hits an absolute home run. I really believe that if she stays on the straight and narrow, she could be one of the all-time greats. Her talent is not debatable and this performance is evidence of that. She channels so much frenetic energy into this role, but keeps it bubbling just below the surface. Her ability to break the fourth wall and directly address the audience is what separates this movie. Her ability to build a connection with the audience is outstanding and so much fun to watch. Her comedic timing is impeccable and she communicates so much about this character with her performance. It seemed like she had an absolute blast playing this role and that energy is infectious. Brown makes this a fun movie with her brilliant, entertaining performance. That's hands down the biggest reason to see the movie.

I suppose it was also nice seeing a twist on the Sherlock Holmes stories that we're mostly familiar with. It feels like the brilliant detective has been having a huge renaissance over the past decade or so. That's good for us, because he's a fantastic character, but it also starts to feel like we've seen it all before. Making this movie about Sherlock's sister was a nice change. That being said, it very much plays like a younger, female Sherlock Holmes story. In some ways, I wish this was just a movie about a brilliant teen. It does retain just a bit of feeling redundant, as we've had so many opportunities to see Holmes in recent years.

The story itself was fine, but was certainly a weaker part of the movie. Without Brown's energetic performance, I would probably have disliked the film. The story doesn't inspire much excitement. Enola is searching for her missing mother and gets caught up in a royal's flight from home. There's some political intrigue and conspiracy, but none of it feels all that interesting. The movie bounces around between a few different plots before tying them together, and it's all fine (but again, nothing special). It feels like there's ultimately too many different threads and director Harry Bradbeer (who's mostly worked in television) somewhat struggles weaving them all together into a coherent narrative. I found it worked much better to not worry too much about the plot and just sit back and enjoy Brown's performance.

The supporting cast was hit or miss. Helena Bonham Carter was fairly good as Enola's mother. I felt mostly ambivalent about Henry Cavill's Sherlock. I like Cavill and I think he did a good job here, but the bar has been set so high for this character. We've had Robert Downey Jr.'s strong performances in his two movies and Benedict Cumberbatch has been brilliant on Sherlock. Cavill doesn't get close to either of them. He's somewhat an unconventional choice for Sherlock. I'm not sure I believed he was a genius. Sam Claflin wasn't excellent, either. His Mycroft was harsher than I expected and didn't really get redeemed as much as needed. I wasn't a fan of Louis Patridge at all. I don't get his casting at all. It felt like that was one of the weaker aspects of the film. He and Brown didn't have good chemistry and his character never felt sympathetic enough. He gets slightly better as the movie progresses, but they needed a better actor than Patridge in that role. Burn Gorman was solid in an antagonistic role. It was one firmly in his wheelhouse, but he worked well.

I wouldn't say Enola Holmes is so good as to warrant a lot of acclaim, but Netflix delivered a solid, entertaining movie. It has multiple flaws, but Brown's fun portrayal of Enola Holmes mostly makes up for it. I had a good time with this movie and while I wouldn't be ecstatic about watching it again, I'm glad I saw it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Sherlock Holmes, The Old Guard