‘Enola Holmes’ is a fierce feminist film about Sherlock Holmes’ sister

• “Enola Holmes” is a fast-paced, playful mystery about Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister, Enola Holmes.
• An adaptation of Nancy Springer’s young adult book series “The Mysteries of Enola Holmes,” the film follows Enola on a quest to find her missing mother, Eudoria Holmes, in 19th-century England.
• As Enola searches for Eudoria, she is forced to outsmart her brothers and pave her own path in the Holmes family.
• “Enola Homes” is now available to stream on Netflix.
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

When Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) left the field to be a detective in London, he left behind his savage little sister, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), that is, according to “Enola Holmes,” the new screen adaptation of Nancy Springer. . young adult book series “The Mysteries of Enola Holmes”.

Unlike the ideal Victorian lady of late 19th century British society who embroiders cushions and reads romance novels, Enola’s specialties lie in jiu-jitsu, tennis, and chemical blasting, all skills acquired courtesy of his feminist and freethinking mother, Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carretero).

And although Sherlock never visits or writes home, Enola, whose name we are often reminded of to mean “just” backwards, diligently collects newspaper clippings about her cases.

In “Enola Holmes,” a Legendary Pictures and PCMA Productions project distributed by Netflix, the strong-willed heroine gets a chance to solve her own.

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What it’s about: Set in 19th-century England, Enola searches for her missing mother and her identity within the famous Holmes family.

When Eudoria inexplicably disappears on the morning of her daughter’s 16th birthday, her sons Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes (Sam Claflin) return to their estate, surprised to find their sister without a traditional education, much less a governess.

Without her mother at home, Enola’s future is in Mycroft’s hands.

She is faced with the decision to follow her mother’s hidden codes that lead her to freedom or succumb to Mycroft’s plan to enroll her in finishing school and making her a “proper” lady.

For her, the decision is easy. The catch is that Enola needs to locate Eudoria before Sherlock catches her.

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What begins as a laser-focused search for his mother turns into something with far greater implications when he meets fellow runaway Lord Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge).

With several men behind her, some trying to tame her, others trying to kill her, Enola navigates the streets of London and the English countryside disguised as a boy or an equally unlikely corset-wearing girl, changing course several times while in a mission to correct the mistakes of others.

Why you should watch: ‘Enola Holmes’ focuses on a strong female lead and has a stacked cast

Period pieces have been adapted and modernized countless times, but few of them have focused on a female lead as fierce as Enola.

The young woman refuses to fulfill the gender roles assigned by society, either by marrying a man or by wearing an itchy hat. And while there are a plethora of stories set in the late 19th century, viewers rarely see a strong, disobedient woman seeking something greater than courtship (and who doesn’t end up getting married anyway because they finally met the “right ” man).

In “Enola Holmes”, they finally do.

Director Harry Bradbeer gives viewers an unfiltered look at a young Victorian woman. As he did in the first two seasons of the award-winning show “Fleabag,” Bradbeer invites the female lead to break the fourth wall and share her thoughts directly with the audience.

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Thanks to Brown’s impressive delivery, viewers have the opportunity to meet a complex and uncompromising feminist who lives in a period when a woman’s individualism was not widely accepted. Neither are their demands for equal rights.

And while Enola is a brave detective willing to dress up for work, she is not immune to the patriarchal customs of the time. From Mycroft’s control over his future to institutions that prohibit the entry of women, examples of institutionalized inequality are scattered throughout the film.

The subject is most blatantly and effectively addressed when Eudoria’s friend, a black feminist named Edith (Susie Wokoma), points out Sherlock’s privilege as a wealthy white male midway through the film.

In fact, the story would have benefited if screenwriter Jack Thorne included more of those deep conversations rather than some of Enola’s action scenes. Because while it shows that his combat skills can keep him ahead of his enemies time and time again, some of him on-screen relationships are underdeveloped.

Enola’s feelings for Tewkesbury, in particular, abruptly change from annoyance to awe with little interaction between the characters.

Although their potential romance is not meant to be at the forefront of the plot, and she claims to grow fond of him more during his absence, the rapid progression of their closeness might have slowed down to feel more authentic.

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However, the film’s stacked cast will likely win over viewers regardless.

Brown, who rose to fame on “Stranger Things” before appearing in nearly every scene in “Enola Holmes” and co-producing the project with his sister Paige Brown, carries the film on his shoulders.

She is flanked by Cavill from “Man of Steel” playing a softer-than-usual Sherlock, which led to a lawsuit for the ownership of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Claflin from “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” as the traditional mustachioed Enola. older brother Mycroft.

Carter, her on-screen mother, completes the family as the whimsical and free-spirited Eudoria, a role that feels completely natural to her, especially after her performance as one of the first British activists to be trained in jiu-jitsu at the 2015 film “Suffragette”. . “

As for Patridge, who appears on the “Medici” show, the British teenager defends himself as the love interest of Enola and her faithful companion, Tewkesbury.

The Bottom Line: ‘Enola Holmes’ is a lovely watch, but viewers shouldn’t expect a remake of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock.

At just over two hours, “Enola Holmes” is a high-energy feminist story that has something of something for everyone: mystery, activism, romance, story, and action.

But the protagonist is not to be compared to Sherlock, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s intellectual detective.

While many of Sherlock’s cases are known to be multifaceted and impossible for anyone other than the famous detective to crack, his sister’s first attempt at solving a crime is fairly straightforward and easy to follow.

The key to uncovering the crime is being the first to arrive at the scene, rather than the most technically advanced. In fact, Enola spends more time dodging her siblings, changing from corsets to pants and making snide comments on camera than looking for clues.

So between Enola’s coming-of-age story and the current events going on around her, the mystery in question may seem secondary.

This type of case makes “Enola Holmes” accessible to many, but disappointing to those used to more sophisticated detective work.

Although it is tempting to compare her to Sherlock due to their shared nickname, it is important to realize that “Enola Holmes” is not about a young woman following her brother’s path. Rather, it’s about Enola’s quest to carve hers.

Grade: B +

“Enola Holmes” premiered on Netflix on September 23. You can watch the trailer below.