Did you know that Sherlock Holmes is the most oft portrayed fictional character in movie history? There are over a dozen actors still alive today who have played Holmes in major motion pictures. They could have a club. They could study their scarlets and hound their baskervilles together. It makes little difference. I only point this out because while Enola Homes isn’t necessarily a Sherlock Holmes film, it plays upon the Sherlock Holmes legend and such legend has been done very well recently by two Avengers: Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey, Jr.
Which, I suppose, is all to say that if you think you have a Sherlock Holmes tale to tell, you’re gonna be compared -likely unfavorably- to some weighty predecessors.
Instead, this film brought me 11 from “Stranger Things” and the world’s blandest Superman. DC ain’t winnin’ this battle, pals.
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brownie) is the estranged thing posing as the younger sister to Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Clafin). The MUCH younger sister, I might add. Give it up for mom (Helena Bonham Carter), over twenty years of reproductive health, woo! Not bad for the 19th century, huh? Enola has grown not knowing her brothers. Her name is a palindrome of “Alone,” get it? She’s alone. And that curtails the most clever this Sherlock Holmes film had to offer. Oh well. Enola lives on a big fancy estate pretending she doesn’t have privilege while she prances about practicing archery and solving riddles. She grows up with anagrams, art, and judo; there are certainly worse hobbies, especially for the time period.
When mom goes missing, the boys come home for a reunion, and, I dunno, a tickle fight. Neither man seems all that fussed about mom’s possible kidnap, but Sherlock insists he’s on the job. Little does he know that his sister has no intention of playing backseat detective. [Geez, Sherlock, some detective you are] A crude series of anagrams and a disguise later, Enola is off to find mom. But first she has to find her own foil, little Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). It’s just no fun being smart when there’s nobody on camera who isn’t.
BTW, Henry 
Cavill is so handsome, he makes Sam Clafin look ordinary; that is some powerful handsome, huh?
Again though, this film is not about Sherlock, but Enola. It has such a lovely cast; I’m really not sure why it wanted to waste them.
I digress. Twice. The film is about Enola, and by “Enola,” I mean Millie Bobby Brown. This is first role I can recall where we genuinely get to see Millie living it up on camera. Does it work? Well, she’s cute and the film is very well shot, so it ought to. The problem is, for me, it does not. There are a number of competing genres in Enola Holmes, and not only does none of them come out a victor, I’m not sure any of them really try. It’s a mystery, right? There was no “aha!” or super clever moment in the film. Then it’s feminist piece –there was talk women’s suffrage and women’s rights and our heroine is the female Sherlock Holmes and yet, again, nothing stands out as some sort of definitive feminist statement. There’s the cute angle, the romance angle, the period piece angle. These facets all got a good share of screen time, yet nothing stands out as a monument to great filmmaking. This is a very watchable film that becomes very forgettable very easily. I daresay I liked Enola enough to see her again (you can lose Sherlock and Mycroft; they’re useless), but I’d like to see her with another screenwriter, somebody who will really capture the teen genius.
Without a Clue, Holmes and Watson have hammered
Through film, books, and plays often stammered
Ah, but here’s sister
In case you’d have missed her
Turns out, I’m seven percent enamored
Rated PG-13, 123 Minutes
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Writer: Jack Thome
Genre: New Holmes Wednesday
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People dying for Millie Bobby Brown to encounter fewer “Stranger Things”
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Genuine mystery fans
