Enola Holmes

Enola Holmes (2020) enters the Sherlock Holmes world through a younger sister and turns it into something bright and fast. Enola is sixteen and has been raised by her mother in a way no Victorian girl was supposed to be: chemistry, chess, jiu jitsu. When her mother vanishes one morning, Enola runs to London to find her, while her brothers Sherlock and Mycroft try to send her to finishing school. Millie Bobby Brown talks straight to camera throughout. That single choice separates this from every other Holmes adaptation and opens it to a younger audience. Henry Cavill's Sherlock is unusual too, not cold and clipped but calm and quietly interested in his sister. The mystery itself is not as tightly built as a real detective story and the film does not pretend otherwise. What it is actually about is a girl in the 1880s trying to choose her own life. It runs 123 minutes and sags a little in the middle. There is a sequel. Good for: family adventure, period mystery, and young leads. Comfortable to watch with a child of about ten and up. Less good for: anyone hoping for the deductive puzzle work of classic Holmes.