Review of Enola Holmes (2020) by Bitmalik — 11 Dec 2020

I didn't finish this movie because I couldn't. It was not for the "politics" or feminism that I lament this movie, at least not entirely. I am glad that this film had a feminist message, but the feminism was ham-handed. Social justice is something that needs to be achieved still, and woman-positive media is a way to help achieve that.

What was most reprehensible and anti-Holmesian was the fourth wall breaking; the direct speaking to the audience that was annoying and unrealistic and unnecessary. Also, The story was not compelling. The old "what happened to character X that disappeared suddenly without a trace" trope as the first mystery was boring. Furthermore, the use of clues was not typical of Sherlock Holmes. The deduction that Enola used was based on her personal knowledge of her mother, rather than keen observation, the deep pool of knowledge that Sherlock Holmes gains through reading, or his network, which Sherlock uses to solve mysteries. Indeed, Enola had no network because she was cooped up and home-schooled by her mother, played by an unoriginal and overrated Helena Bonham Carter.

The relationship and age of all the Holmes doesn't make sense and seemed forced, although some marriages did start at a very early age for many young "women" in the 1800s. There's barely 17 years between Cavill and Carter and Mycroft is supposed to be 7 years older than Sherlock, so... mother at 10? Before the average girl's first menses? Please. Despite trying to be pro-woman, this film continued Hollywood's infantilization of women and cast an unrealistically young mother Holmes. They should have went with a older, more intelligent woman.

Lastly, I thought Calvill's acting was wooden and dull. He didn't seem to be processing much in his head like a real Sherlock would. Of course, some of this is due to his writing, which made him to look inferior to the upstart Enola, because this movie is both anti-man and young adult fiction. This could have been a much better film.