Netflix’s latest trending movie, starring the internet’s favorite Millie Bobby Brown, and directed by Harry Bradbeer, is wowing viewers across America. Enola Holmes, Sherlock’s teenage sister, is played by the young actress Millie Bobby Brown, who rose to fame after starring in the successful Netflix original series, Stranger Things. “[Brown is] the bright, sustaining spirit of a film that surrounds her with a fine cast and lovely trappings in a pleasantly twisty detective story that’s elevated by the exuberance of Enola’s detecting,” stated Joe Morgenstern from the New York Times.
Set in 1884, the movie follows Enola Holmes as she wakes up on the morning of her 16th birthday to discover that her mother was missing. Her brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, whom she had been left with try to send her off to a school “for proper young ladies” until she escapes to find her mother and starts living by her own rules.
“On the surface, “Enola Holmes” is about a young woman in search of herself, but the film’s value comes from a deeper investigation of power, familial bonds and the risks of changing a world determined to stay the same,” Morgenstern states.
Sherlock is played by Henry Caville, who has been criticized since the movie’s release for his performance.
“Enola Holmes is absolutely wonderful, quirky and charming. You’ll absolutely love it, unless you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, then it quickly loses its charms,” Said one of the many reviews on IMDB.
“The new Netflix movie “Enola Holmes,” based on “The Case of the Missing Marquess,” stars a delightful Millie Bobby Brown in a saucy 1900-set pastiche with a modern feminist spin. Enola — who likes to point out that her name is “alone” spelled backward — is bright, clever, curious and, above all, resolute.” The LA Times states.
Henry Caville, however, received negative reviews for his performance. Many claimed that his portrayal of an emotional Sherlock Holmes was inappropriate. The scandal even got him into a bit of legal trouble recently.
The New York Times wrote, “The film, which scored a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, also has an area of feminism about it many viewers praised it for. Brown, as Enola, steals the spotlight from Sherlock Holmes as the hero of the movie. Over two months she had to undergo training for the many chase and fight scenes throughout the story.”
Looper.com stated, “While Brown has spent years tasked with making her telepathic and psychokinetic abilities seem real to the Netflix series’ audience, it’s also required her to put on a realistic American accent. In an interview with Express, Brown revealed that after four years of doing that accent, going back to her own proved to be more difficult than she anticipated.”
The young Enola also spends the whole movie fighting gender norms, “whether they be marrying a man or wearing a scratchy hat. And though there is an abundance of stories set in the late 19th century, rarely do viewers see a strong, disobedient woman in search of something greater than courtship (and who doesn’t end up getting married anyway because they finally met the “right” man),” Insider remarked about the film.
“Although it’s tempting to size her up to Sherlock due to their shared moniker, it’s important to realize that “Enola Holmes’’ isn’t about a young woman following her brother’s path. Rather, it’s about Enola’s quest to carve her own,” also commented Insider.