‘Enola Holmes’ review: A charming feminist spin on the classic Sherlock

The film released on Netflix on September 23, and stars Millie Bobby Brown of ‘Stranger Things’ fame.
Enola Holmes
Enola Holmes
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Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most enduring characters of literature – the ‘consulting detective’ created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has enjoyed many adaptations till date since he was created in the 19th century. Over time, we have even enjoyed some of the female characters from the Sherlockian universe, whether it was Mrs Hudson, Sherlock and Watson’s witty landlady; Irene Adler, the sharp dominatrix who has a fleeting romance with Sherlock; and even Mary Elizabeth Watson, John Watson’s wife who turns out to be spy. However, Enola Holmes, Sherlock and Mycroft’s sister, is perhaps the most compelling female character in the universe yet, and that’s probably because she comes from another author – a woman.

The Netflix film, Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame, released on September 23. Directed by Harry Bradbeer, Enola’s character is based on a young adult fiction series by American writer Nancy Springer, called The Enola Holmes Mysteries. Millie plays the 16-year-old Enola, a spunky, driven teenager, who takes after Sherlock in her extraordinary intelligence. She doesn’t fit into the expectations of being a demure, dainty and docile young woman, and in that way, is like her widowed mother, who taught her to read, to speak up, to seek privacy, and even to fight in physical combat.

The story of Enola Holmes is premised in the disappearance of her mother – Eudoria Holmes, played by Helena Bonham Carter – and Enola’s quest to find her. However, not before their mother’s disappearance brings Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) back into Enola’s life, after having last seen them when she was too young a child. However, we immediately see the disdain that Mycroft, and to a smaller degree, Sherlock have at how ‘unladylike’ Enola is.

It is fascinating and amusing that before these men come into the picture, this is not seen as a problem at all (much like real life?). Enola and Eudoria live their lives on their terms – reading, learning, not needing men – and it’s their normal. Indeed, Eudoria is planning something much bigger, which is revealed later in the film. However, when Enola realises that she must look for her mother on her own after Mycroft is determined to send her to a finishing school to make her an ‘ideal’, ‘marriageable’ young woman, she decides to run away to London. And in the context that unfolds, the film drives subtly but surely drives home an important message – that the personal is political.

Enola’s time in London coincides the period preceding a reform bill that will make the voting a right and not a privilege. Women’s suffrage in the west has been a hard-fought battle, and it is in this context the film places Enola and other women around her, and the social attitudes towards those who challenge the status quo.

For instance, one of the most impactful scenes in the film is a confrontation between Sherlock and Edith (Susan Wokoma), a tea shop owner who moonlights as a jiu jitsu instructor, when he comes to look for Eudoria and Enola. When Sherlock calls politics ‘boring’ Edith tells him it’s because he doesn’t know what it’s like to be without power. She tells him that he sees so much – Sherlock is known after all for his keen and minute observations – but doesn’t see that the world is in need of change because he has privilege already.

Between Mycroft, Sherlock and Viscount Lord Tewksbury (Louis Partridge), a boy whose life Enola saves and forms a close friendship with, we do see how those with privilege can use it to maintain status quo, and to bring change. However, what is painfully clear is that without lived experiences, even those with the best of intentions possibly cannot truly know what it’s like to be treated as lesser – in this case, by the virtue of not being a man.

It is also endearing that while the film shows Enola as a novice detective, it doesn’t take away from the fact that she is a young girl in a strange world; a teenager who is driven, but also suffering the loss of the person she loved most – her mother; a girl who finds herself taken by the Tewksbury but is also bold enough to say no at time when someone in her place is expected to simper.

While the film does meander a little in its narrative between Enola’s quest to find her mother, the story gives us enough moments that are memorable, relatable and even cathartic. The filmmaking is reminiscent of the Amazon Prime show Fleabag as well, with Enola speaking her most candid to the audience, directly into the camera.

Enola Holmes once again shows that there are few things in the world that scare men and society at large more than women with minds of their own, and as a secondary, those who support them. Incidentally, Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate had in June sued Netflix for violating Doyle’s copyright by showing Sherlock in Enola Holmes as – wait for it – having emotions and being respectful of women. This is ironic, for Henry Cavill as Sherlock will hardly come across as anything but reluctantly and barely sentimental in the film! 

Also, if you relate more to Sherlock and share his disdain for politics and the words ‘feminist take’ still make you feel threatened in the 21st century, Enola Holmes anyway has the makings of a good young-adult drama with a mystery, intrigue, even action sequences too. And most importantly, it has a remarkable heroine who’s just getting started.

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.

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