Millie Bobby Brown is back in a sequel to one of Netflix’s surprising additions to its film library with the feminist re-telling of the Sherlock Holmes story, Enola Holmes, which acts as an adaption of the book series of the same name by Nancy Springer who bought this character to life and added an extra layer to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Enola is an anagram of the word “alone”, and that pretty much sums up this character.
Enola is all on her own with no friends, a family who gives her her freedom and she is raised to be an independent spirit. The first film was a lovely surprise with its modern approach to the Holmes story while also keeping it set in Victorian England, something that this sequel aims to keep.
We find Enola at the start of this film setting up her own detective agency but unfortunately, she is still living under the shadow of her famous brother Sherlock Holmes, and as a result, she is getting nowhere. About to give up in her pursuit to help the helpless she comes across a young girl Bessie who needs help as her older sister has gone missing. What happens next is a mystery that needs uncovering, one that also leads her back to her brother Sherlock who is in the process of unravelling a mystery of his own in tangent to her investigations. The two cases are linked and we are whisked on a Holmes reunion as Enola, Sherlock and their wayward mother Eudoria all come together to take down corruption and oppression.
The story is factually true as the central mystery is based around the real life 1888 “Match Girls” strike and the life of labour activist Sarah Chapman, but with a bit of a fictional twist. The history and the setting adds to the female empowerment nature of the story which doesn’t feel as forced as other stories of this nature. Instead we have Enola’s struggles and commentary on the mystery narrated to us, the audience, throughout the film that details the why and how females are always being made as the victim. All the actresses in the film however are victim-less as they are all strong-willed, fierce and ready for a fight.
Joining the returning cast of Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes and Helena Bonham Carter as Eudoria Holmes is David Thewlis’ villainous character Grail and Hannah Dodd as Sarah Chapman herself. Dodd is a very underrated actress with very limited credits to her name and proves to be a force to be reckoned with as a character based on a true historical icon. Grail on the other-hand may or may not be a red herring for the true villain of the film, but that would be spoiling. Grail is a shadowy character, something that Thewlis is known for and has made a career out of it. The casting is on point with plenty of other additions that fit into the story and create this modern and yet historical universe of well-loved literary characters.
There are a few issues however as the plotting is stretched out over the runtime with one clue leading to another and another until the film can reach its inevitable conclusion. There are also less innovative action moments unlike the first film where Millie Bobby Brown was using her wits more than her fists but here it seems to be more hands-on, which isn’t a bad thing but this has all been done before and it feels rather generic. The dizzy plot structure is fun but also feels a little over convoluted too, especially at the end of the film when all the characters come together. There are some good action scenes such as a cart chase instead of a car chase, but this all feels like a mash-up of ideas in order to keep the plot from slowing down. Overall though it does work and the film does feel pretty balanced despite the over-padded story.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Millie Bobby Brown is energetic and invigorating as Enola Holmes, putting her own stamp on the more recently created literary character. She feels and acts like a Holmes and completely inhabits the character and makes it her own. The plot is where the film falters, but only slightly. The pacing feels padded out over the two-hour runtime with some fun villainous encounters mixed with puzzling crime scenes. Enola Holmes 2 is a fun sequel which plays it safe but is also interesting and I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see this character either.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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