REVIEW: 'Enola Holmes' (Netflix)
Despite owning three of Nancy Springer's 'The Enola Holmes Mysteries' books, I have never read any of them, but was interested in the concept of Sherlock and Mycroft's younger sister. The announcement of a Netflix dramatisation of the first book 'The Case of the Missing Marquess' was therefore met by me with a sense of anticipation. However, due to current circumstances, I was unable to actually watch the resulting film until a month after release (following an hors d'oeuvre of 'Scooby Doo & Guess Who: Elementary My Dear Shaggy!' on ITV), meaning that despite my best endeavours to avoid online reviews, I was aware of both positive and negative reactions from Sherlockians.
The main criticisms seem to focus around the depiction of the two Holmes brothers, in particular showing Sherlock as capable of emotion. This was not problematic for me, as 'The Three Garridebs' shows him as capable of emotion when he believes that his trusty Watson may have been mortally wounded (the argument used by the Conan Doyle Estate in their lawsuit, as this story is one of the ten not yet in the public domain), so why would he not have emotion in relation to his little sister ? (I can attest that older brothers always remain concerned for their little sisters). The main issue for me was that of Mycroft (as usual without a hint of corpulence), played by Sam Clafin, who rather than only ever travelling the small triangle that represented his rooms, the Diogenes Club and the Foreign Office, seemed to travel all around London, and even into the country to briefly return to his family's 'stately pile'. The plot also required him to act as an antagonist to our heroine achieving her full potential, meaning that the teasing relationship with Sherlock seen in 'The Greek Interpreter' is certainly not seen in his relationship with Enola. However, for the reasons of the plot, I was willing to overlook this.
But aside from this anti-Mycroft, what did I think of the film ? I must confess to thoroughly enjoying it. Two interconnected investigations/adventures focusing on the disappearance of Enola's mother, and threats to the life of her newest friend, a young Marquess on the run. Not having seen 'Stranger Things', Millie Bobby Brown (who also produced) was new to me, but I enjoyed her performance as Enola, particularly her narrated asides to the camera like a Victorian Miranda. Henry Cavill was slightly too attractive to be Holmes, but did the deductive bits well. I also enjoyed the parade of British acting talent, including Helena Bonham Carter (as Enola's mother); Burn Gorman (as a persistent assassin); Fiona Shaw (as the Headmistress of the finishing school that Mycroft wants Enola to attend); Claire Rushbrook (as the Holmes' housekeeper); Frances De La Tour, Hattie Morahan & David Bamber (as the Marquess' family); and Adeel Akhtar (as Inspector Lestrade). [And if you have Sherlock's hawk-like eyesight, you can spot 'The Baker Street Boys' Jay Simpson as a conductor]. I also enjoyed spotting two regular Sherlockian filming locations – Hatfield House and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
I am aware that I may not be the target audience for a film whose main message is that teenage girls can be whatever they want to be, but save occasional scowls when Mycroft came on screen, I was smiling and chuckling throughout, enjoying myself greatly. I hope that this might the the first of a series. But in the meantime, I might try and find where I've put my three 'Enola Holmes' books.
Rating:
(4/5)
