Enola Holmes – Movie Reviews by Ry!
Enola Holmes – Coming of Age: The Sister of Baker Street
In the world of discovery, there is the ultimate question … what comes next? This is a perplexing string that leads through the story of mystery. In film, mysteries provide a whimsical aspect of journey. Through the unexpected crime, there is an auspicious thread that can lead to great possibilities. In this latest review, I look at a Netflix Original that takes a unique spin within a known property. Even within a familiar tale, Enola Holmes takes you on a colorful ride of one girl’s journey in the detective world.
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is living a good life with her mother, Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter). When her mother disappears, she sets out on an adventure to discover the truth. The script is a combination of coming-of-age elements within a general detective story. The film starts with an introduction to the titular character, her mother and their rocky relationship with her brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft Holmes (Sam Claflin). Once everything is set, we head into the inciting incident, Eudoria Holmes’ disappearance. This creates a domino effect that leads to the key incident, Enola leaving her home to find her mother. At the heart of the story is the strong characterization of Enola Holmes. She provides the central pillar for themes of adolescent growth and familial relationships. Seeing her face each challenge with a witty but strong attitude creates a dynamic that drives uniqueness into the innocence of her character. The cleverness of the dialogue is fun and genuine, creating scenarios of conflict, harmony and understanding. As Enola heads to London, she gets dragged into a bigger mysterious web, putting her at odds at her main objective of finding her mother.
As Enola struggles to understand this new mystery, it leads her on a path of unorthodox circumstances. She stands at crossroads of unwanted decisions, creating a dilemma that test skills passed down by her mother. The leads into strong character depth, but an expansion of unnecessary side story filler. As each clue is discovered, the basics of the outline levels out some of the enjoyment. This leads to a typical ‘A to B’ format and predictable ‘plot armor’ for certain characters. Even when things start to become obvious, the ensemble cast provides that spark of genuine fun. When the truth comes to the forefront, it creates a climax of familiar ‘detective’ revelations of the truth. Enola Holmes is an enjoyable detective story that provides a different spin to a common tale. If you are a fan of those involved, mysteries, coming-of-age or detective tales, this is one for you. It is available to watch on Netflix, but it would be worth the full price of admission at the theaters.
Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)