Millie Bobby Brown’s latest collaboration with Netflix is a light-hearted, sweet story of Sherlock Holmes’ little sister who gets to solve some mysteries of her own. There are some great moments in it with the fourth wall breaks meaning that we see a comedic side to Brown that haven’t seen in any of her other roles. Animation and references to silent films create a nice atmosphere for the exposition for this period piece and the tongue in cheek humour is very entertaining.
It is a very British film and is much more diverse than most period dramas with Adeel Akhtar and Susie Wokoma being included in the main cast which is encouraging to see. The film challenges toxic masculinity as well as create empowering roles for women. Much of the action shows off Brown’s capability to commit to a role despite her young age and shows her range beyond El from Stranger Things. Henry Cavill’s Sherlock is a stark contrast to Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal and is a far tamer version that gives him a much more human quality.
There is an inevitable political element that comes with a female centred story but it fits nicely into the historical context with Helena Bonham-Carter’s suffragette role. Overall, it was perhaps slightly too long, but it was a very entertaining and fun watch.
‘Enola Holmes’ is available to stream on Netflix.
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