The Sunday Mail
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
God bless Millie Bobby Brown! That, in a nutshell, was my biggest takeaway from Netflix’s big hit “Enola Holmes”.
The movie features the “Stranger Things” star as the youngest of the Holmes family who sets out to solve the mystery of their mother’s disappearance.
Much like she has done for the past three seasons of the American science-fiction horror “Stranger Things”, Millie Bobby Brown is the heart and soul of this 123-minute flick. She churns out yet another heart-warming and show-stealing performance.
Enola Holmes (Brown) has lived a very sheltered life in the country with her mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), the matriarch of the Holmes family.
On her 16th birthday, Enola wakes up to find her mother missing.
She takes it upon herself to look for her after efforts to get help from her elder brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), were fruitless.
Oh! Did I mention she is the younger sister of England’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes?
Armed with a keen eye for detail, incredible wits and a few clues her mother left behind, she embarks on the rescue mission. But a troubled and mysterious young boy, Lord Tewksbury (Louis Patridge), proves to be her greatest distraction.
What starts off for Scotland Yard a simple case of a missing woman ends up being much more. And Enola proves to be the only person who can deal with the case.
This is a fact that the movie repeatedly reminds the viewer. Let me start with my three biggest takeaways from the movie.
Firstly, for all of Henry Cavill’s talents, I found his interpretation to be rather iffy.
For many years now, I have viewed the British actor as a chameleon of sorts, someone who slips into his character and blends with it so smoothly.
I mean, he made for an incomparable Napoleon Solo (The Men from U.N.C.L.E), adequate Theseus (Immortals) and remains one of my favourite Clark Kent/Superman. He almost outshone Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible: Fallout), but his Sherlock remains suspect.
It is like nothing we have seen before.
This Holmes smiles, is affectionate and seems rather content to watch from the terraces as the mysteries unfold at every turn. The story introduces us to the key characters, Enola and Holmes family, and also serves up the primary and overarching plot, which, in this case, is the disappearance of Eudoria Holmes. For those with a keen eye, the flick gives the impression that there is more than meets the eye with both Eudoria and her disappearance.
The film is based on Nancy Springer’s book series “The Enola Holmes Mysteries”, and there is a very good chance that plans are afoot for a big screen adaptation for the books. This movie is sure to be a hit.
