solved not by cunning or wit but through a convoluted bout of room-hopping. The lushness of the Holmes residence and the vibrancy of the street scenes in London are not matched by many of the interiors, which feel muggy and half-formed. Enola can at least perform a mean corkscrew. In the end Enola Holmes is less of a romp than we might expect, though still fairly light and easy viewing. That’s largely thanks to Millie Bobby Brown, who excels in the role, managing to overcome an at times impossibly twee script through the sheer exuberance of her personality.
Victorian stuffiness wilts away in her presence, sometimes in spite of all the winks at the camera. There is a plausible spark between Enola and Tewkesbury, and a fittingly fledgling sort of chemistry cultivated during the course of the film between Brown as Enola and Cavill as Sherlock, who strikes the balance between aloof and empathetic. Perhaps then Enola Holmes does serve like some of the best Victorian fiction, stilted but still leaving enough room to wonder.
Paris, Texas Culturedarm
Spring-Summer 2021 67
