OLLA MOKHTAR
campus editor
olla.mokhtar@my.tccd.edu
Sister of the famous Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist Enola Holmes from “Enola Holmes 2,” is a cunning, hyper-independent and talented detective.
“Enola Holmes 2” follows her life after she escapes her older brother’s captivity from the first movie. She opens up a business called Enola Holmes Detective Agency, but customers seem to like her last name rather than her skillset. She is often undermined and asked about her brother or told that ‘she is a woman’ in a condescending tone. Eventually she receives a case in which a little girl is looking for her missing sister.
Starring Milly Bobby Brown as Enola, Henry Cavill as Sherlock and Louis Partridge as Viscount Tewksbury, Enola Holmes 2 was even better than the first for a variety of reasons.
Enola has character development that wasn’t seen in the first movie. She struggles with her family, business and asks for help when she needs it. It is new because she was under Mycroft’s control as his ward in the first movie but now, another side of the new detective that is making a name for herself is being shown.
The movie is action-ridden with a sub-genre of romance and each contributes greatly to the film because Enola sees receiving help from her famous brother and pursuing Tewksbury as burdens.
She was raised to be hyper-independent by her mother, learning the art of the sciences, jujitsu, history and more so that she would not have to depend on anyone in her life. Even her name spelled backwards is the word ‘alone’ so it seems as though she was destined to do everything alone.
Her mother says otherwise, suggesting that she find allies and people that she can trust including her brother, Sherlock and Tewkesbury. The realization that she needn’t be alone was a true character development for her and better humanizes and strengthens her personality. She is seen as less a runaway and more like a stubborn, curious and smart woman that her mother molded her to be.
In the first movie, Tewksbury is escaping from his family and while Enola helps him do that, a romance brews. The romance is further explored in the second movie and the tension and longing that both of the characters displayed with their acting was beautiful.
The movie is largely focused on finding the girl’s sister however in the moments that Tewksbury and Enola are alone, it seems as though they only see each other, as corny as that sounds. Both Brown and Partridge obviously worked hard on their characters both individually and conducting their chemistry with one another.
Throughout the movie, Enola speaks to the audience and addresses them especially when she is in trouble or is anxious. In a scene where Tewksbury and Enola are dancing, she looks directly into the camera and displays signs of nervousness..
Enola Holmes 2 is one of a kind. From character development to romance it seems the audience begs for more or there wouldn’t be an Enola Holmes 2 to begin with. However one thing that was mildly distasteful was the pacing of the movie.
Don’t get me wrong, the execution of the film was stellar but it read more like a series than a movie. Rather than have Enola solve one case, a series would allow her to explore more and give more to the audience. The pacing was a little too fast and it felt forced a lot of the time, almost like there were too many ideas but a timeframe that was too small to execute it in.
All in all it truly was a movie that deserved another following it, I just hope the directors flip the script like Enola’s mother flipped her name, and leave the movies alone.
