Now a detective-for-hire, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl as the sparks of a dangerous conspiracy ignite a mystery that requires the help of friends – and Sherlock himself – to unravel
Chuck says:
Enola Holmes has a lot on her plate. When first we meet her, she’s being pursued by two London bobbies and has been cornered in a deadend alley. She’s having a hard time getting her detective agency up and running, what with her more famous sibling attracting her clients and then there’s her romantic feelings toward Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). Can he be trusted with her heart? And what about the missing match factory girl she’s been trying to find and why are some of London’s elite so concerned about stopping her from investigating a seemingly disposable worker? Enola has bitten off a bit more than she can chew…and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you’re a serious Sherlock Holmes fan, avoid “Enola Holmes 2” at all costs. This sequel, based on the YA book series by Nancy Springer, plays fast and loose with the canon established by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The timeline of the famous detective’s life is upended, it seriously alters his relationship with Inspector Lestrade and attributes behaviors to him that will likely make the eyes of anyone immersed in Holmesian minutiae roll straight to the back of their head.
No, these features are, by and large, used as a showcase for Millie Bobby Brown, the breakout star from “Stranger Things” who has taken her career by the horns, formed her own production company and produced the two “Enola” films. You have to tip your hat to the young lady as she’s found the perfect vehicle to showcase her considerable talent. And while these movies have their charms, they’re far from perfect, the mysteries at their core overly convoluted, the films themselves far too long.
Director Harry Bradbeer brings a palpable sense of energy and inventiveness to these films. The movie is an effective mash-up of various cinematic techniques that brings the story to life. Sharp editing and inventive – not spastic-camerawork are employed, while most of the action sequences are imaginatively staged, though overlong. Equally effective are the striking animation scenes are used throughout whenever Enola is putting the pieces of the everchanging puzzles that plague her together, giving us a bit of insight into her mind via vividly drawn images.
Brown’s efforts or talent cannot be overstated. Her charm and charisma are the key to making this all work, her confidence and self-effacing performance, totally winning. This is most evident when Enola breaks the fourth wall to directly address the viewer, a device used to great effect throughout that makes the audience part of the action, the character getting us up to speed on what she’s thinking and her method of deduction, all done with a lightly comic touch thanks to Brown’s deft performance.
If you lose the thread of the film’s central mystery, don’t be too hard on yourself. Much like its predecessor, this entry’s far more convoluted than it should be, even more so this time as Jack Thorne and Bradbeer’s script strains to connect the whodunits the Holmes siblings are trying to crack. It’s labored at times while the numerous bloated action scenes certainly don’t help.
Still and all, there’s enough to make you stick it out to the end. Henry Cavill as Sherlock is inspired casting and I’d love to see him in a series covering the detective’s early days. Adding weight to it all is the fact-based incident – London’s 1988 matchgirl strike- an effective device to bolster that girl power on display. In the end, “Enola 2’s” mystery doesn’t prove as important as the company we get to keep as it plays out.
3 Stars
