After her mother (Bonham Carter) goes missing on her 16thbirthday, Enola Holmes – yes, the younger sister of famous detective Sherlock (Cavill) – sets out to find her in this enjoyably fluffy teen mystery romp, based on the Nancy Springer novels.
While Sherlock and brother Mycroft (Clafin) would prefer their little sister shuffled quietly off to boarding school to become a proper lady, Enola instead escapes and dashes off to London, meeting young Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who is in danger himself, along the way.
It’s a jolly adventure with a terrific central performance from Brown as the independent and clever Enola, and there’s great support from Bonham Carter as her unconventional mum, Frances De La Tour as the Dowager Tewkesbury, an underused Fiona Shaw as the boarding school headmistress and Burn Gorman as the dastardly Linthorn.
Clafin and Cavill (though a bit more of a muscular Sherlock than we’re used to) are fine too, but fans of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective will be alarmed that this version is surprisingly emotional towards his sister when he should be dispassionate and aloof. Of course, this is because the movie is based on Springer’s books (Enola herself is not a Conan Doyle creation but Springer’s) not Conan Doyle’s but it is a strange experience to meet a more warm and fuzzy Sherlock Holmes nonetheless.
Is Enola Holmes suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
Enola is often in danger, and there are a couple of sequences where she fights or is being chased, but nothing that should disturb viewers over the age of eight.
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