Review of Enola Holmes (2020) by Thequietgamer — 01 Oct 2020

A family-friendly take on the mystery movie formula. Sherlock's younger sister is an endearingly quirky character. Her penchant for things like regularly breaking the fourth wall is just as charming as the actress she's being brought to life by (Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown). In a lot of ways she's like a less annoying Harley Quinn. Watching her try to find her place in the world while navigating her dysfunctional family dynamic is a sympathetic journey to see unfold. One that lets Brown show off how talented of a star she actually is by pairing her with far more experienced actors and letting her carry the big emotional moments.

The story is quite bloated. Largely because there are two separate plot threads going on at the same time. They do end up tying together in a satisfying way by the end, but there's still a lot that feels like it could have been cut out. This really didn't need to be over two hours long. Also, one of the mysteries seems to only be included so that a love interest can be established for Enola. Something that is not only unnecessary, but handled in a totally cliché manner to boot. It's one of those dynamics where she berates him the entire time because apparently that's what a strong independent woman does when they have a crush on somebody and he likes her back anyway.

This is a very political film. Though not in a bad way because it realizes that you don't have to belittle men in order to empower women. Making this easily the best piece of blatant feminism we've gotten since Trump got elected into office. Maybe even before that.

It tries it's hand at the whole drawing parallels between how women are treated today and how they were treated in the past thing as well, but it's far less successful on that front. In its defense, I don't think I've ever seen anything do a good job of that though. Every time someone tries all we really get is a critique of the viewpoints people had years prior, which yeah we know were bad, with very little actually being said about our present state. Enola Holmes is no exception. It is a cute little adventure however, and has clear franchise potential. The groundwork has already been laid for a great sequel. All that would be needed are a tighter script with more focus, more familial interactions with the rest of the cast, less inconsequential romance, and maybe a slightly larger role for Henry Cavill who gives a career best performance as the most famous Holmes. Yet, even if that never happens I at least got to spend a fun afternoon filled with laughs and heart watching a young lady who may just be my new favorite detective. That's enough for me for now.