Welcome to another week of early fall happiness! This week, we’ll be talking about some coziness of the YA or middle-grade persuasion, with 2020 Netflix film Enola Holmes this week, as part of our cozy mystery month theme.
Enola Holmes is a young adult mystery adventure film based on the book series of the same name by author Nancy Springer. It stars Millie Bobby Brown as the titular character Enola, the teenage sister of famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Henry Cavill plays the famed detective Sherlock and Sam Claflin plays their older brother Mycroft.
The plot follows Enola’s search for her missing mother Eudoria, played by Helena Bonham Carter, on her 16th birthday. Eudoria has raised Enola to be intelligent and independent, unlike most girls of this time. When her brothers arrive after her mothers’ disappearance and insist on sending Enola to finishing school, she escapes to London disguised as a boy to find her mother and get back to her normal way of living.
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On the train to London, Enola encounters Viscount Tewkesbury, a young lord fleeing his powerful family. Enola gets unwillingly drawn into his plight when an assassin tries to kill him on the train. They band together for a period of time in order to figure out who is after him. In London, Enola follows clues her mother left behind in ciphers and learns Eudoria was involved in the women’s suffrage movement.
Enola and Tewkesbury deduce his family wants to kill him so his traditionalist uncle can take his place in Parliament and vote against progressive reforms that are coming up. They confront the villainous Dowager Countess, Tewkesbury’s grandmother, who admits she hired an assassin to kill her own grandson. Enola is able to defeat the assassin using self-defense skills her mother taught her.
Ultimately, Tewkesbury takes his place in Parliament to vote for reform and Enola decides to become an independent detective like her brother. The story has fun adventure and quirky characters but relatively low stakes, making it an enjoyable cozy mystery. As it’s more geared towards a young audience, we never feel as though the characters are in too much danger, which helps to keep Enola Holmes on the cozier end of the mystery spectrum.
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Major themes:
- Female empowerment and independence: Enola defies traditional gender norms and asserts her autonomy in a patriarchal society. Her mother raises her to think independently and reject conformity. Enola refuses her brothers’ control and chooses her own path, donning pants and disguising herself as a boy for freedom of movement. She outwits professional assassins and detectives with the skills her mother taught her.
- Importance of education for women: Eudoria educates Enola in languages, science, politics, etc., giving her the knowledge to succeed independently in a world that underestimates women. This was radical for the time when most girls received little formal education. Enola’s intelligence allows her to be an equal of her famous detective brother.
- Women’s suffrage movement in England: Eudoria’s activism highlights the real historical fight for women’s rights and voting reform in late 19th/early 20th century Britain. Enola’s independence carries on her mother’s rebellious spirit. The villainous Dowager symbolizes the old aristocracy trying to maintain the status quo and keep power from women and the lower classes.
- Sibling relationships and responsibility: Enola has complicated dynamics with Sherlock and Mycroft who neglected her but now want to control her future. Sherlock is impressed by Enola’s skills and comes to respect her desire for independence, unlike Mycroft who clutches his pearls at her unladylike behavior.
- Class divides in British society: The aristocratic villains try to maintain the status quo and prevent progressive reforms that empower common people and women. But Enola, Eudoria, and reformists like Tewkesbury push for equality. Enola disguises herself as a common flower girl, allowing her to blend in.
- Youth and first love: Enola’s sweet interactions with Tewkesbury portray youthful affection and naïveté. As older viewers, we feel tenderly towards their young romance, reminded of our own adolescent experiences. The pair’s inexperience makes them underestimate the danger they are in.
Enola Holmes has fun adventures, quirky characters, and an engaging mystery plot that keeps the stakes relatively low, making it an enjoyable cozy watch. But it also explores many deeper historical themes relevant to women’s rights, youth, and class divides in late 19th-century British society. We love it for a comfortable and fun early September watch.
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