Enola Holmes: the mystery dramas with Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown

The 'Enola Holmes' mysteries (Netflix, 2020 and 2022) are a great set of movies to watch on a lazy afternoon. The films are based on Nancy Springer's novels, 'The Enola Holmes Mysteries,' in which the main character is the sister of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.

Images: Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown, one of the stars of the streaming platform, brings the protagonist to life. She's still a teenager but has already consolidated her status as a world star. So much so, that the young actress is also the producer of the film.

Together with Millie Bobby Brown, we see Henry Cavill (Sherlock), Sam Caflin (Mycroft), and Helena Bonham Carter (Eudoria Holmes). The stories have also featured Fiona Shaw, Louis Partridge, and Adeel Akhtar.

The films are directed by Harry Bradbeer ('Fleabag', 'Killing Eve'), whose hand is seen in details such as the very sharp and quick conversations and, of course, the fact that Enola breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the viewer. It's a resource that Phoebe Waller-Bridge raised to a masterful level in 'Fleabag.'

In the first film, Enola Holmes grows up with her eccentric mother in Victorian England in 1884. One day, her mom disappears. She leaves behind several objects but no clues. Faced with the orphanage situation of their sister, Sherlock and Mycroft decide to send Enola Holmes to a boarding school against her will.

In the second film, there is some romantic tension in the air, along with the suspense of a crime story. Viscount Tewkesbury, played by Louis Partridge, got to know Enola Holmes during her first adventure but becomes much more important in 'Enola Holmes 2.'

In the second movie, Enola Holmes has become a professional private detective who is struggling to get started in the business. Her first case is about a girl who works in a match factory and goes missing one day. As it turns out, she had other activities besides making matches as well, and these may have gotten her into trouble...

It's yet another instance in which Enola Holmes has to find clues to the disappearance of a woman. In the first movie, she escapes from the boarding school and looks for her mother in London.

The complicated part of the search is not to find her mother but to keep at bay the best detective in history: her brother Sherlock.

Before the first film's release, the family of Arthur Conan Doyle, who own the rights to some of the author's works, went to 'war' over the story. They sued Netflix and Penguin Random House, the publisher of the Enola Holmes novels, because these books allegedly pictured Sherlock Holmes as too nice of a man.

According to Deadline, the family believes that Henry Cavill shows too much emotion in his interpretation of Sherlock, and an unusual respect for women. These are characteristics that the original Sherlock did not have.

'Enola Holmes' is one of several spin-off of Sherlock Holmes, such as the anime co-directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1984 or 'The Secret of the Pyramid' ('Young Sherlock Holmes' - 1985), which showed the adventures of a young Sherlock and his emerging friendship with his companion Watson.

However, it has been the BBC's 'Sherlock' and Benedict Cumberbatch that raised the figure of the detective to its highest point of fame in decades. A modern, funny and raw remake that has turned the English production into a cult series.

Image: BBC

Since there are six books in the series 'The Enola Holmes Mysteries', it seems clear that Netflix is thinking about a complete franchise with Millie Bobby Brown as its characteristic face.

Image: Penguin Random House

Critics who reviewed the first film acknowledged that Millie Bobby Brown can run a franchise. In 'Stranger Things', she is supported by a strong ensemble, but here, she stands very strong on her own.

John DeFore, from The Hollywood Reporter, applauds the young actress' performance, as well as 'Enola Holmes' depiction of feminism without falling into the extreme.