Enola Holmes: New Netflix Film Celebrates Female Empowerment

Millie Bobby Brown, known for her role on Stranger Things as Eleven, has remarkably brought a book character to life: Enola Holmes. The teenage Enola Holmes is a fictional character created to be the sister of the renowned Sherlock Holmes, the famous fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The 2020 mystery film Enola Holmes is an adaptation of the novel The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer from her Enola Holmes book series. It is a Netflix production directed by Harry Bardbeer, starring Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, and Helena Bonham Carter, in addition to Brown. 

One morning at the end of the 19th century, Enola wakes up to discover that her mother, Eudoria, has suddenly disappeared without notice, despite them being each other’s closest companions for years in their isolated home of Ferndell Hall in England. Upon hearing the news, Enola’s brothers, Sherlock Holmes and Mycroft Holmes return to Ferndell Hall for the first time in ages to help uncover the mystery of Eudoria’s disappearance. Seeing Enola’s untraditional personality and behavior for a girl at that time, however, Mycroft quickly decides that it is necessary to send Enola to a finishing school, where she will be trained to become the “ideal” young woman against her free will. Setting her destination for London, Enola sneaks out of the house dressed as a boy in order to find her mother and escape being sent to the unwelcoming finishing school. 

During her train ride to London, she encounters a young man named Viscount Tewkesbury, a marquess who is also on the run from his family. Enola strongly refuses to assist Tewkesbury when initially asked, but when it is revealed that the defenseless Tewkesbury is also pursued by an assassin, Enola lends a hand by hitting the killer and jumping off the train with Tewkesbury. They part ways upon arriving in London. Later, while Enola is attempting to find Eudoria, she will find herself entangled in a high-stakes political movement involving both her mother and Tewkesbury.  

The movie is centered around the theme of female empowerment. Even though women were regarded as considerably weaker and inferior to men in the late 1800s, her identity as one does not stop Enola from carving out a path for herself apart from societal expectations. Her accomplishments can be largely credited to her mother’s teachings. Since she was born, Eudoria has trained her in reading, science experiments, Jujutsu, archery, fencing, and much more. Through these lessons, Enola learns to think with a sharp mind and to fight strongly. She fights with the assassin going after Tewkesbury in a scene of the movie while utilizing her creative thinking and fighting skills. 

Following Eudoria’s education, Enola fights for her rights and protects those in a weaker position than her. She refuses to follow what men request of her against her free will, such as going to the finishing school. Yet, despite placing a high value on her freedom, she is willing to give it up to protect others she cares about and who require assistance. She does not have to help Tewkesbury escape from the killer in the beginning. Yet, she chooses to do so because Tewkesbury is relatively vulnerable, and she wants to help. Later in the movie when Enola and Tewkesbury are at risk of being discovered while hiding from their seekers, Enola deliberately protects Tewkesbury by ordering him to leave, resulting in her unfortunate but expected escort to the finishing school. Subsequently, Tewkesbury unexpectedly sneaks into the school and helps Enola escape again to repay her favor. 

I strongly recommend watching Enola Holmes. It is a wonderful movie, not only because of the excellent mystery component filled with unpredictable plot twists, but also because of the character development and bonds. Enola and Sherlock had not seen each other for nearly a decade; nevertheless, the two intelligent souls were able to form a strong bond with each other during the short duration of the movie. While Mycroft is eager to send Enola to a finishing school, Sherlock truly tries to understand Enola’s needs and desires as a young woman in that age, subtly supporting her in multiple ways in the movie. 

Another thing I love about the film is how Enola frequently breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience to explain her thinking and the setting. This untraditional film strategy made me feel like I was a part of the mystery-solving journey. 

The only thing I would warn against is Sherlock’s personality as it is displayed in this film. Sherlock is known to be a sociopathic genius that is messy yet extremely observant and deductive; however, in my opinion, he is depicted to be too much of a “gentleman” and not so much a sharp-eyed detective in this movie. Enola is almost always faster than him in discovering minute details, which is great for Enola, but Sherlock in this case is not who we have understood him to be. A fun fact about this is that Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate actually sued Netflix for depicting Sherlock to be too emotional, which conflicted with Sherlock’s “public image”. Fortunately, the two sides decided to dismiss the lawsuit in the end.  Even better, in Enola Holmes 2, the sequel, the untidy Sherlock Holmes returns with his brilliant mind and works together with Enola to solve more cases. 

Enola Holmes was given a rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Saturn Awards for the best film presentation in streaming media. In Enola Holmes 2 (2022), Enola continues her journey of female empowerment by establishing her own detective agency and solving a perplexing case involving the disappearance of a girl from a factory with the assistance of Sherlock and Tewkesbury. The thrilling and engaging movie style for both the first and second movies keeps the audience enthusiastic about the possibility of a third Enola Holmes movie.