Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of the most famous fictional characters to exist. Countless famous men have been given the part to portray this mystery-solver, but Netflix took a turn off the usual path.
'Enola Holmes' starring Milly Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Louis Partridge tells a story of the little sister of Sherlock Holmes, named Enola. While Enola is much younger than her older brother, Sherlock, she is equally as smart. Without spoiling too much, the youngest Holmes embarks on an adventure in search of her missing mother (played by Helena Bonhman Carter). Eudoria Holmes is a passionate feminist, who is fighting for the the right to vote as a woman, while the rest of the world is fighting over the right to vote as a common and powerless male. The mother of the Holmes children raised Enola herself, and made a clear point to teach her skills that a lady of their time wouldn't be expected to need, such as science, martial arts, and code encrypting.
As the movie progresses, viewers begin to get a stronger sense of how powerful and smart Enola Holmes really is, as she uses her knowledge of martial arts to fight off her attackers, outwit those after her, and decode messages from her missing mother. But there's one big hole in the plot, why would anyone be after her with ill-intentions?
This is where the story takes a turn to show how a young girl can be strong, confident, and have a caring heart.
In her journey, Enola meets a boy her age on the run (but again, I won't spoil too much). Only about two minutes after meeting him, she saves his life from someone who is trying to fatally harm him. After being seen saving his life, she too also has dangerous men following her because of her association with him.
The young man is painted to be extremely handsome and charming, but Enola has one clear goal in her mind, and has no intention of staying by his side for her journey. She clearly states that her mother told her to never let anyone get in the way of her ambitions, but especially not a man trying to stop her.
While viewers might expect this to be "prince saves the damsel in distress, often more than once," type of movie, Netflix again takes a different path entirely by reversing the gender roles of this stereotype. After leaving the boy (who's name is actually Tewkesbury) to his own destiny, she realizes that she is much stronger than he is, and he is another human in need of help. Somewhat reluctantly, Enola Holmes uses her brilliant mind to deduce who is after him and why. And of course, saves him from even more life-or-death situations he finds himself in.
Although she never strays from her mission, she shows that you can be a smart, dedicated and independent young woman while still having an open and caring heart for others. Along with her witty comments that break the fourth wall, Enola Holmes is a likeable character that anyone of any age could probably stand to take a view tips from!
