The Game Is Afoot: Sherlock’s Kid Sister Outwits The Famous Detective

By Ayden Duchovnay

A murderous assassin pursuing a dashing marquess through bustling 19th century London. An enigmatic mother vanished into thin air from her countryside mansion.  

Two baffling mysteries to be solved by Sherlock Holmes? Think again.  

Enola Holmes opens with a shot of a disheveled girl riding a bike through the English countryside. With her hair flowing in the wind, her mud-covered shoes pumping her bike pedals viciously,  she promptly breaks the fourth wall, turns to the camera, and tells us her story.  

An  incredibly refreshing film, Enola Holmes is a hero for the ages. With a fast comedic pace, sparkling banter, and a tale that  keeps the  audience on its toes – chock full of twists, turns, and ridiculous revelations, we wonder why there’s even a Sherlock Holmes at all. Set against chummy Sherlock and his medieval male mates, Enola proves her brilliance and striking wit time and time again, all while leading a feminist tale about suffriagism and women’s rights. 

On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown, who also co-produced the film) woke up utterly alone, her mother gone without a trace. Enola’s elder brothers Mycroft (Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill) arrive at the family home to search for her but seem more concerned about Enola’s lack of “proper” education. Instead of embroidery and etiquette (blech!), Enola learned cryptology, hand to hand combat, and science from her eccentric mother – yet her brothers are not amused. 

Irked, Enola heads for London to find her mum. On the way, Enola meets “useless” Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) and plunges into a world of violent intrigue. The year is 1884 and a proposed parliamentary reform bill would bring radical change. The city is a powder keg with suffragists on the brink of violence – they are tired of waiting. 

Assassins and murderers lurk on every corner, and with ample reward money for the capture of Tewkesbury, Enola only briefly escapes being shot, stabbed, blown up, and drowned by her keen observation skills and self-defense. Enola Holmes is not just a typical Sherlock mystery with a confounding puzzle to solve – Enola literally has the fate of her country (and future) in her hands.  

Enola Holmes exemplifies female genius at its best. In contrast to the self-centered, destructive geniuses of past Sherlock characters – think Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch – Millie Bobby Brown’s Enola remains optimistic, generous, and empathetic. Sherlock Holmes shows off incessantly with a penchant for dramatic flair. Enola, by contrast, navigates through London, using expected female norms and misogyny to her advantage. She plays harmless and dull-witted, disguises herself as a proper Victorian lady, and makes herself invisible.  Many female detective films – like Veronica Mars or Jessica Jones – embody their heroes with stereotypically male characteristics. They are fearless tomboys or apathetic agents – but not Enola. Despite her change of costume, Enola maintains her identity and personality as an odd, flawed, and resilient young woman.  Her corset, a symbol of femininity in the Victorian era, even serves as a defensive weapon at one point; striking a subtle commentary on stereotypical femininity and weakness. Enola stays true to herself – displaying the sharp intellect and composure of a Holmes detective. 

Enola Holmes transports you into a world of blatant honesty, awkward interactions, endless mysteres, constant crime, and egregious (practically geratric) grandmas. The movie is not just an enthralling mystery, but a powerful tale of feminism and historical drama wrapped into one. Move over Arthur Conan Doyle – the world is ready for a brand new Holmes detective, a daring heroine by the name of Enola.