Enola Holmes 2 Review: With Witty Mysteries And Sparring Detective Siblings, The Sequel Solves The Crime.
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Music Director : Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography : Giles Nuttgens
Story by : Nancy Springer
Editor : Adam Bosman
Instasity.com Rating : 3.75/5
Enola Holmes 2 Review: Millie Bobby Brown Ups the Game
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), a young detective, has her first official case draw from real history and reinterpret Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
It's her! Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), the whip-smart, socially awkward, fisticuffs-wielding, disguise-swapping girl detective introduced by Netflix in a charming if overstuffed origin story in 2020, but with all credit for solving that film's mystery going to her more established older brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), Enola's sophomore outing in Enola Holmes 2 serves as something of a second debut: investigating a crime that no Enola unravels a bigger scheme involving the top and lower classes, typhus and the Treasury, and even a longtime foe of her brother's.Despite Sherlock Holmes' advice not to make the case about herself, Enola's personal investment—particularly her blunders along the way—makes her second journey so captivating.
The film immediately adopts the tone of its predecessor, breaching the fourth wall in a manner reminiscent to Fleabag (director Harry Bradbeer returns to the helm), but the creators cleverly establish early on that Enola merely wants you to believe that she is in control. Despite having enough money to start her own detective agency, she has no clients; despite saving the life of her on-again, off-again love interest Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) in the previous film and ensuring that he can become a member of Parliament; and despite being reunited with her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), the latter is still too busy detonating things in the name of the suffragette movement to spoil her daughter.
Even though Enola is not alone, she is lonely, which is part of the reason she jumps at the chance to reconnect factory girl Bessie Chapman (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) with her "found sister," Sarah, who has gone missing—likely as a result of a male. Enola, who is accustomed to being undervalued, is aware that the solution is not straightforward and that the only way she will discover it in its entirety is by following Sarah's path all around London.
The Enola Holmes Mysteries, a six-book YA series by Nancy Springer, serve as the inspiration for this new film series, but returning screenwriter Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials) takes the story in a completely other route. Though Thorne does adopt some familiar aspects from the books, such as an upper-crust ally in Lady Cecily (Hannah Dodd) and such high-society information as the language of flowers, Enola's most recent mystery draws on the actual history of the Matchgirls' Strike of 1888.
Enola's quest transcends class boundaries, from factory floors to shady theatres to the season's social festivities, highlighting how much the youngest Holmes child's erratic upbringing failed to prepare her for modern life. This is particularly evident in the young sleuth's proclivity for going incognito. Enola is no chameleon, despite her loud charm and overconfidence. She can't quite pull off the lowly factory girl demeanour (she's hungry, but not starving); later, at an exclusive ball, she stands out like a sore thumb owing to her last-year attire and—gasp!—obliviousness to chaperones and other traditional ladylike behaviour.
The sequel wisely expands on Enola's code-switching experiences, this time more complicated than donning a boy's outfit (though they bring back that joke), and this time delivered by someone who will remind Enola of her own relative privilege: Ms. Mira Troy (Dune's Sharon Duncan-Brewster), secretary to the head of the Treasury, but widely underestimated as an older, unmarried Black woman. Enola observes how others have battled to escape the mould of what's deemed proper while yet living in those locations in some of the finest situations.
All of this is to indicate that Enola isn't too obstinate to ask for help when she needs it, whether it's from Sherlock (complete with sibling fighting) or Tewkesbury (with the proviso of calling him a nincompoop every time). Tewkesbury is a less engaging love interest in the second film, and the sequel scarcely supports his presence, albeit their relationship has an amusing symmetry: he teaches her to dance, and she returns the favour by teaching him to fight. Many a wonderful lady can benefit from having a nice man at her side.
At moments, it looks that the film is unsure how much of its youthful whimsy to ground or how far to push its PG-13 rating. Murder is a far more severe matter than kidnapping, and Enola is falsely implicated, but it's unclear how terrible the stakes are intended to be. Although it's canonical for Inspector Lestrade (Adeel Akhtar) to be blind to Enola's business, it would have been interesting to have him play a more active part rather than meddling just enough to put her off-balance because the story needed it. Later, a hilarious scene with an intoxicated Sherlock begs the question: is this version of the Great Detective pre-addiction, or are his vices limited to liquor?
The film's villain, Superintendent Grail, has the most inconsistent portrayal of tone (David Thewlis). The crooked cop is arguably too disturbing an enemy, stalking Enola around corners with foreboding strokes of his cane or sneering at her in plain sight when they meet paths at murder sites. He takes a cruel joy in pursuing Enola (and, really, the entire Holmes clan), making the various sequences in which he corners her unsettling to watch. Perhaps the producers realised this since the battles with Grail frequently go towards the unnecessarily ludicrous. However, there is always the need for a red herring.
Sherlock and Enola's relationship is so great that you don't even notice stick-in-the-mud foil Mycroft (Sam Claflin). These clever loners, cut from the same fabric, discover little moments of connection, taking care of one other while also understanding the others' limits, and even masterminding some light matchmaking when needed. (There are also a few smart comments to the Holmes estate's issue about this depiction of Sherlock having affections, with Enola adding, "I prefer this version of you.") Hopefully, their connection will continue to be a cornerstone of future films.
While the previous film didn't necessarily leave any loose ends, this one (like Enola herself) is much more confident in the franchise's future, with an MCU-style mid-credits scene to introduce someone extremely unique to this universe. Enola Holmes 2 has officially begun the match; now we'll see how long it lasts.
Will there be an Enola Holmes 3?
Enola Holmes 2's last minutes set the groundwork for another film (the mid-credits sequence! I'm not going to say anything!) With so much source material in Springer's series, we may expect more cases to come through the doors of Enola and Sherlock's respective detective firms. The foundations of the previous film allow Enola to soar through this playful, albeit often dark and melancholy, sequel, which sees our detective siblings joyfully link together, while Sherlock manages to stay out of his talented sister's way.
Enola Holmes 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
