Enola Holmes | |
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Directed by | Harry Bradbeer |
Screenplay by | Jack Thorne |
Based on | The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
Edited by | Adam Bosman |
Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 123 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Enola Holmes is a 2020 mystery film starring Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the teenage sister of the already famous Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes. The film is directed by Harry Bradbeer from a screenplay by Jack Thorne that adapts the first novel in The Enola Holmes Mysteries series by Nancy Springer. In the film, Enola travels to London to find her missing mother but ends up on a thrilling adventure, pairing up with a runaway lord as they attempt to solve a mystery that threatens the entire country. In addition to Brown, the film also stars Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter.
Filming began in July 2019. Originally planned for a theatrical release by Warner Bros. Pictures, the distribution rights to the film were picked up by Netflix due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enola Holmes was released on September 23, 2020. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Brown's performance. It became one of the most-watched original Netflix film releases, with an estimated 76 million households watching the film over its first four weeks. A sequel, Enola Holmes 2 , was released on Netflix on November 4, 2022.
Enola Holmes is the youngest sibling in the Holmes family. She is extremely intelligent, observant, and insightful, defying the social norms for women of the time. Her mother Eudoria has taught her everything from chess to jujitsu and encouraged her to be strong-willed and independent.
On her sixteenth birthday, Enola wakes to find that her mother has disappeared, leaving behind only some gifts. A week later, she meets her brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock. Sherlock finds her intelligent, whereas Mycroft finds her troublesome and as her legal guardian, intends to send her away to a finishing school run by Miss Harrison.
The flower cards left by her mother reveal secret messages and lead to hidden money, which Enola uses to escape disguised as a boy. On the train, she finds the young Viscount Tewkesbury hidden in a travel bag. She thinks he is a nincompoop, but warns him that a man in a brown bowler hat (named Linthorn) is on the train searching for him. Linthorn finds and tries to kill Tewkesbury, who escapes with Enola by jumping off the train. Tewkesbury forages for edible plants and fungi, and the two return to London and part ways.
Disguised as a proper Victorian lady, Enola continues to trace Eudoria, leaving cryptic messages in the newspaper personal advertisements. Enola discovers pamphlets and a safehouse containing explosives, and learns that Eudoria is part of a radical group of suffragettes. She is attacked by Linthorn, who interrogates her about Tewkesbury. She fights back, ignites the explosives in the safehouse and escapes.
Enola decides to find Tewkesbury again, to save him from Linthorn. She visits the Tewkesbury estate to learn more, meeting Tewkesbury's grandmother the Dowager. Meanwhile, Mycroft has Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard search for Enola.
Enola finds Tewkesbury selling flowers in Covent Garden and warns him of Linthorn. Taking him to her lodgings, she is caught by Lestrade and imprisoned in Miss Harrison's finishing school by Mycroft. Sherlock visits her and admits he is impressed by her detective work. Tewkesbury sneaks into the school, and they escape together, stealing Miss Harrison's motor car. Enola decides they must go to Basilwether Hall and face Tewkesbury's uncle, who she has deduced was trying to kill him.
The estate is seemingly deserted, but Linthorn ambushes them. Enola trips him using jujitsu, causing a fatal head injury. Tewkesbury's grandmother is revealed as Linthorn's contractor. As a staunch traditionalist, she did not want him to take his father's place in the House of Lords and vote for the Reform Bill. She shoots Tewkesbury, but he survives, having hidden a plate of armor under his clothes. Sherlock arrives at Scotland Yard, where Lestrade informs him of Enola's actions as they plan to have the Dowager arrested.
Enola shares a tearful goodbye with Tewkesbury. She eavesdrops on a meeting between Sherlock and Mycroft, where Sherlock suggests becoming her guardian. Upon returning to her lodgings, Enola finds Eudoria waiting there. She explains why she had to leave, and why she must leave again, but she is impressed by what Enola has become. Enola has found her purpose—she is a detective and a finder of lost souls.
By February 2019, a film adaptation of the book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer was in development at Legendary Pictures, with Millie Bobby Brown producing and starring in the title role and Harry Bradbeer set to direct. [1] The film adapts the first book, The Case of the Missing Marquess , in which the younger sister of famed detective Sherlock Holmes goes on an adventure after her mother's disappearance. [2] Brown had read the books with her older sister Paige and immediately wanted to play the role of Enola, but wasn't yet old enough to play the character. She later told her father they should make it into a film and partnered with Legendary Pictures, the same company she had previously worked with on Godzilla: King of the Monsters . Brown and Bradbeer discussed the film and wanted energy, emotion and eccentricity as key elements of the film. [3] [4] Brown discussed with writer Jack Thorne how she wanted to break the fourth wall. [4] [5] Bradbeer was enthusiastic about the script since it combined his interest in stories about "dysfunctional families coming to terms with each other" with his love of Sherlock Holmes. [3] Brown took the opportunity to improvise, something she would not do on television series Stranger Things , which is heavily scripted and because the character of Enola Holmes allowed for it. Capturing those moments and keeping up with Brown proved challenging for the focus puller. [4]
In June 2019, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Adeel Akhtar and Fiona Shaw joined the cast, [6] [7] [8] with Sam Claflin, [9] Louis Partridge, [10] Susie Wokoma and Burn Gorman joining in July as filming began in London. [11] [12] [13] Railway scenes were filmed in Worcestershire at Arley railway station, Kidderminster Town railway station and Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley Railway. [14] The Holmes family residence Ferndell Hall was filmed at Benthall Hall in Shropshire. [15] [16] Benthall Hall had not previously been used as a filming location, and the production design team received great help from the head groundskeeper who allowed the place to become overgrown to achieve the look they needed. [16] [17] Interiors were shot at West Horsley Place in Surrey. False walls were put up and inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement they included plant motifs in the decorations and period wallpaper. [17] The East End and Limehouse Lane locations were created among outbuildings at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire. [16] The scene in which Sherlock and Mycroft try to meet Enola was filmed at Drum Court within HM Treasury Buildings in Westminster. [16]
Bonham Carter called her role the "smallest, greatest part I've been offered" and her agent tried to discourage her from taking on such a minor part. She was appreciative of the depth of the character despite her limited screen time. In the final cut, Eudoria did ultimately appear more than in the initial script. [18]
Consolata Boyle was responsible for creating the costumes. Boyle and her team custom-designed, dyed and made the costumes for the main cast and background actors. Approximately thirty costumes were created for Enola, and costumes such as the red powderpuff dress had to be repeated several more times because of the physicality of the role and any damage that might occur during fight scenes. The powderpuff dress was based on theatrical costumes of the period, and Boyle wanted to use red, the color of courage. Boyle's favorite was Enola's final dress, it used the same shape as the first dress Enola wore while riding the bicycle bringing the costumes back full circle, but also the natural untreated silk used in the final dress has no strong color and "it allows for anything to happen next." [19] [20] The colors violet, green and ivory were associated with the suffragette movement so Boyle consciously made use of those colors in the costumes. [21]
Visual effects were supervised by Michael Ellis and done by Mr. X [22] and Host VFX. [23] [24]
The Conan Doyle Estate filed a lawsuit against Netflix over the film, claiming it violated copyright by depicting Sherlock Holmes as having emotions. [25] They argued this aspect of the character did not fall under the public domain as he was only described as having emotions in stories published between 1923 and 1927, and the copyright for the stories published in that period still had not expired under copyright law in the United States. [25] [26] Cavill said that his portrayal of Sherlock was "a lot more emotional to begin with, so we pared it back, and we said, 'Alright, let's not make it too emotional'." On the lawsuit he said, "It's a character from a page which we worked out from the screenplay. The legal stuff is above my pay grade." [27]
On October 30, 2020, lawyers for the defendants filed a motion to dismiss, saying the estate was unfairly attempting to prevent the fair use of characters that are "undeniably in the public domain". [28] On December 18, 2020, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice by stipulation of all parties. [29] [30] [31] In 2023, the final Sherlock Holmes stories entered the public domain as the US copyrights for The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes expired. [32]
In July 2019, Daniel Pemberton was announced as composer of the film's score. [33] The soundtrack was released on September 23, 2020. [34] Pemberton described it as "unashamedly melodic and emotional orchestral music" with some "messy quirky oddness thrown in as well". [34]
Originally intended to be a theatrical release by Warner Bros. Pictures, in April 2020, Netflix picked up the worldwide distribution rights to the film due to the COVID-19 pandemic, except for in China. [35] [36] It was digitally released on September 23, 2020. [37]
To promote the film in the United Kingdom, Netflix installed a series of statues of famous sisters next to existing statues of their famous brothers. [38] They also released a free play at home adventure game in collaboration with Escape Hunt UK called An Enola Holmes Adventure. [39]
In its debut weekend Enola Holmes was the second most-watched item on Netflix, behind the television series Ratched . [40] Over its first five days it was the most watched film on Netflix, [41] [42] as the film went on to become the biggest first day opening Netflix title in 2020 as well as dominating the largest number of Netflix's monitored countries. [43] In October 2020, Netflix reported the film was on-track to have 76 million households watch the film over its first four weeks of release. [44] In November, Variety reported that according to data by ScreenEngine/ASI the film was the 13th most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that date. [45] The film was the seventh most searched film globally on Google in 2020. [46]
In January 2021, Enola Holmes ranked 7th on Business Insider's Biggest Netflix Original Movies of All Time with 78 million viewership. [47]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Enola Holmes brings a breath of fresh air to Baker Street – and leaves plenty of room for Millie Bobby Brown to put her effervescent stamp on a franchise in waiting." [48] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [49]
Peter Debruge of Variety called the film an "entertaining franchise starter" and praised Brown's performance, stating that "[her] acting style recalls the effusive spontaneity Keira Knightley brought to Pride and Prejudice , shattering the straitlaced propriety of so many Jane Austen adaptations before it." Debruge found the film "more tasteful in its high-energy storytelling than Guy Ritchie's recent Sherlock Holmes movies, and considerably more fun than [2019]'s Nancy Drew reboot." [50] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and wrote: "It successfully imagines a place for its heroine in Holmes' world, then convinces young viewers that Enola needn't be constrained by that world's borders." [51] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote: "Enola Holmes offers brisk and exuberant escape from the heaviness of modern times, with its leading actress lending her own appealing touches to the journey. When the game is afoot, she's more than capable, not just of keeping up, but winning the day." [52] Ella Kemp of Empire magazine wrote: "Well-intentioned if sometimes lacking in subtlety, Enola Holmes offers a fine, spirited reminder that a traditional story can always be retold – although it might need more refined teachings on feminism next time." [53] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave a mixed review, saying: "It all rattles along amiably enough. Enola Holmes is the kind of all-star production that might once have been made by the BBC" but had some criticism for the mystery elements of the story "there should have been more specifically ingenious deducting and solving from Enola – codebreaking isn't the same thing." [54]
In a negative review, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "A bright young actress, a movie-star actor and a potentially interesting concept gets smothered in 128 minutes of colorful, empty nonsense." [55]
Award | Date of Ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
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Kids' Choice Awards | March 13, 2021 | Favorite Movie Actress | Millie Bobby Brown | Won | [56] |
Las Vegas Film Critics Society | March 5, 2021 | Youth in Film - Female | Won | [57] | |
London Film Critics' Circle | February 7, 2021 | Young British/Irish Performer of the Year | Nominated | [58] | |
Online Film & Television Association | April 4, 2021 | Best Youth Performance | Nominated | [59] | |
Seattle Film Critics Society | February 15, 2021 | Best Youth Performance | Nominated | [60] | |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | February 8, 2021 | Best Youth Performance | Nominated | [61] | |
Saturn Awards | October 26, 2021 | Best Film Presentation in Streaming Media | Enola Holmes | Won | [62] |
In September 2020, Brown and Bradbeer acknowledged their intentions to develop a sequel. [4] Brown said she thought only about making the first film until she was on set, then she loved playing the character and said it would be a dream to do it again. [63]
On May 13, 2021, Enola Holmes 2 was officially announced, with writer Jack Thorne and director Harry Bradbeer returning while Brown and Cavill would reprise their roles. [64] In September 2021, it was announced that Partridge and Bonham Carter would reprise their roles. [65] [66]
Production and filming began in Autumn 2021 and wrapped in January 2022. [67] [68] The film was released on Netflix on November 4, 2022. [69] [70]
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award and an International Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards.
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes Club. Mycroft is described as having abilities of deduction and knowledge exceeding even those of his brother, though their practical use is limited by his dislike of fieldwork.
Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's The Tudors (2007–2010), Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2023), Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix fantasy series The Witcher (2019–2023) and Sherlock Holmes in the Netflix film Enola Holmes (2020) and its 2022 sequel.
Nancy Springer is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery, and science fiction. Her novel Larque on the Wing won the Tiptree Award in 1994. She also received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her novels Toughing It in 1995 and Looking for Jamie Bridger in 1996. Additionally, she received the Carolyn W. Field Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association in 1999 for her novel I am Mordred. She has written more than fifty books over a career that has spanned nearly four decades.
The Enola Holmes Mysteries is a young adult fiction series of detective novels by American author Nancy Springer, starring Enola Holmes as the 14-year-old sister of an already famous Sherlock Holmes, twenty years her senior. There are nine books in the series, and one short story all written from 2006–2023. This pastiche series borrows characters and settings from the established canon of Sherlock Holmes, but the Enola character is Springer's creation and specific to this series.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 period mystery action film and a sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Dan Lin, Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram and Susan Downey.
This article describes minor characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, Irene Adler, Colonel Moran, the Baker Street Irregulars, and characters not significant enough to mention.
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Susan Indiaba Wokoma is a British actress, writer and director. She is best known for her roles as Edith in the Enola Holmes films, Cynthia in Chewing Gum, Raquel in the E4/Netflix show Crazyhead and Fola in Cheaters. Wokoma was listed as one of Europe's Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017 and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit by an international jury the same year.
Millie Bobby Brown is a British actress. She gained recognition for playing Eleven in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2016–present), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Brown has starred in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and its sequel Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). She also starred in and produced the Netflix films Enola Holmes (2020), its 2022 sequel, and Damsel (2024).
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Harry Bradbeer is a British director, producer, and writer. He is known for his work on the television series Fleabag and Killing Eve, and the films Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2.
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Louis Patrick James Partridge is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor, and had minor roles in the fantasy films Pan (2015) and Paddington 2 (2017). He portrayed Piero de' Medici in the historical drama series Medici (2019), and had his breakthrough with the Netflix mystery film Enola Holmes (2020) and its 2022 sequel. Patridge has since portrayed Sid Vicious in the FX miniseries Pistol (2022) and starred in Alfonso Cuarón's thriller series Disclaimer (2024).
The Electric State is an upcoming American science fiction adventure comedy-drama film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, loosely based on the 2018 graphic novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci.
Enola Holmes 2 is a 2022 mystery film and the sequel to the 2020 film Enola Holmes, both of which star Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the teenage sister of the already-famous Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes. The film is directed by Harry Bradbeer from a screenplay by Jack Thorne that adapts the book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer. Unlike the film's predecessor, it does not adapt one of Springer's novels and instead takes real-life inspiration from the 1888 matchgirls' strike. In addition to Brown, Henry Cavill, Louis Partridge, Susie Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, and Helena Bonham Carter reprise their supporting roles, while David Thewlis and Sharon Duncan-Brewster join the cast.
Damsel is a 2024 American dark fantasy film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau. Millie Bobby Brown stars as Elodie, a young woman who accepts a marriage proposal only to realize that she is being used to repay a royal family's ancient debts and must now escape while surviving attacks from the dragon lurking in the chasm. The rest of the principal cast consists of Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright.
Enola Holmes (Music from the Netflix Film) is a film score soundtrack composed by Daniel Pemberton for the 2020 film of the same name. Pemberton described the score as a "blend of melodic and emotional orchestral music coupled with a nice level of messy quirky oddness". The score was released by Milan Records on September 23, 2020, the same day as the film. A vinyl edition of the soundtrack was released on June 4, 2021. The score received positive responses and praise from critics.
Enola Holmes 2 (Music from the Netflix Film) is the score album to the 2022 mystery film Enola Holmes 2, directed by Harry Bradbeer, which is a sequel to Enola Holmes (2020). Daniel Pemberton, the original composer, returned to score for the sequel. Pemberton described the score as "bigger than the first film", due to the expansion of the creative journey and the lead actor's adventures. The album was released on November 4, 2022, by Milan Records.
Having Superman and Eleven as my younger siblings made me feel slightly inferior, so that added to the flavour of the character, if anything.
I did about four or five auditions.
That means the case was probably settled, although we don't know for sure.
the streaming giant has picked up global rights, excluding China.
Oh, yeah, I'll just do one movie