Enola Holmes

August 19, 2021 - Wonderteen Millie Bobby Brown takes on the role of Sherlock Holmes's baby sister in this PG-13 film based on the series of books by Nancy Springer. Harry Bradbeer directs a cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter as matriarch Eudoria Holmes and Henry Cavill as Sherlock. In addition to her role as Enola, Brown also gets a producing credit. The film was supposed to be released in theaters, but it ended up on Netflix last fall due to the pandemic.

Brown plays Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. While Sherlock and Mycroft gain fame and fortune in London, Enola gets homeschooled by her eccentric mother (Bonham Carter) at the family estate in rural England. Then, on her 16th birthday, Enola wakes up to find her mother gone, vanished, with nary a word goodbye.

Enola immediately calls on her older brothers for help, but they only seem interested in packing Enola off to boarding school. So, Enola decides to look for her mother on her own. Following clues that Enola believes have been left for her over the years, she sets out for London. Along the way, she meets Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), a young nobleman who finds his own life in jeopardy from an assassin. Now Enola has two mysteries to solve: Where is her mother and who wants to kill Tewkesbury?

Overall review: *** Not the greatest plot, but the cast rises above the material to put this movie in the range of three stars instead of two. A sequel already seems to be in the works with Brown and Cavill (Sherlock) reprising their roles. When it comes out, I'm ready to give Enola another look.