Ever since she burst onto the scene in 2016 with Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown has been on a rocket ship to mega stardom. She was only 12 when that first season came out; and yet, everyone could see it. It was only a matter of time. And with Enola Holmes, that time may be now.
Enola Holmes gives Brown her first chance at a true leading role. With the hype around her breakout role as Stranger Things’ Eleven, there could have been a lot riding on this. Up until now, she had proven her talent undeniable. We’ll happily report that in her first big leading role test, Brown knocks it out of the park.
The film follows Enola shortly after her 16th birthday. She awakens to find her mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), gone. No note, no message, nothing but a handful of birthday gifts. Her brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) arrive but offer little to no help with the situation. In fact, Myrcrofy, Enola’s legal guardian, wants to send her away to a finishing school.
After finding clues and money left by her mother, Enola manages to escape and sets off on her own to find her mother. On the way, she encounters the young Lord Viscount Tewkesbury. He’s on the run from his own family, dealing with his own mystery, and Enola can’t help herself from getting involved here as well.
As a mystery movie, Enola Holmes is a bit uneven. The mysteries themselves aren’t all that compelling. And the resolutions, especially Eudoria’s storyline, leave a lot to be desired. But as the saying going, it’s about the journey not the destination. And here, the journey is a delightfully fun time.
Watching Brown work through the clues and piece everything together is the strongest part of the film. She breaks the fourth wall – a risky decision – in a light, fun way, keeping the audience up to date with her process while never detracting from the larger story.
Rarely off screen, Brown easily carries the movie. Enola isn’t as complex a character as Eleven, but the role still requires some heavy lifting from Brown. She nails the character with the grace and skill of a seasoned veteran. It’s a wildly different role to that of Eleven, and she is having a blast with it, able to flex her acting chops in a completely different way.
The other part the movie nailed was how it used the Holmes brothers. It was perfect. With a big name actor like Cavill playing such a popular and well-known character, it would have been all too easy to give him a lot more screen time. But writer Jack Thorne and director Harry Bradbeer knew what they had in Brown. This is Enola’s story which means it has to be Brown’s movie. Cavill and Claflin are in it just enough to give them some fun family dynamic scenes, both together and with Brown. That being said, if a sequel were to be more of a full team-up of Sherlock and Enola, that could be tons of fun now too. But I also would be more than okay with another Enola-centric story with Sherlock more on the sidelines.
Bottom Line
While lacking in the mystery department, a star-making turn from Millie Bobby Brown makes Enola Holmes one of the more fun Netflix offerings.
Score: 80/100
