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Issue: Spring 2022
Enola Holmes 2 (2022) movie review
A Fire Starts in the Match Factory
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It only takes one little flame to start a fire.
The younger sister of Sherlock Holmes returns, determined to be a detective, which in Victorian London is less than likely. How she managed to start a business and rent an office in the nineteenth century, who knows? But it is best to suspend all knowledge of history and gender politics as they really were in order to enter into this fantasy version of the world.
Enola Holmes opens with a chase then segues into a reprise of REMINGTON STEELE. A female private detective is, so... well, a girl.
There are two things to take into this film -- one, this is a comedy, even a historical romantic comedy, and two, this is selling the idea of female emancipation to a generation of young women who think that success is having a million people 'like' their tits.
Henry Cavill (Sherlock), Millie Bobby Brown (Enola) and Louis Partridge (Tewkesbury); Movie still, Enola Holmes 2 (c) 2022 Netflix
Without power we women must rely on our wits for our fortune.
Enola has had the advantage of being raised to be a rabble-rouser, the rabble being, of course, women. When no-one will hire her she despairs, until a little match girl hires her to find a missing sister.
Into the world of factory girls goes Enola, juggling pursuing police, dangerous factory owners, and restrictions that force her into the dancing arms of reformer Lord Tewkesbury.
Sherlock: There's something about this case that...
Woman: Deduction alone cannot solve?
The theme and Enola's fierce determination race us along, and she frequently includes the audience by breaking the fourth wall and addressing us directly.
Sharon Duncan Brewster Ramzan Miah in Enola Holmes 2 (2022), movie still (c) 2022 Netflix
Cavill as Sherlock takes a mentoring role, still a foil for his sister, but more supportive than the brother who tried to force Enola into corsets and deportment lessons. In return, Enola takes him a little in hand.
Sherlock: Please -- dont turn into me
Enola: I should probably write that down.
In order to enjoy this film, put cyncicism aside, and likewise put aside the presumption that women must remain in the background, unopinionated but decorative. Some (men) have criticised Enola's accent (she's British) and her audience-facing closeup, but those opinions are nervousness, and a resentment of female competition.
Millie Bobby Brown and Helena Bonham Carter in Enola Holmes 2 (2022), movie still c) 2022 Netflix
Enola's spirit and her friendships offer a promise to the young and behind her stands her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) and the hidden women fighting a darker cause.
It's pulp television, but as long as we don't forget the real heroines of history there's nothing wrong with that. All in all, there's a charm in ENOLA HOLMES 2 that wins us over.
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2022-11-01
Ali Kayn is a freelance photojournalist and the founding editor of Festivale Online Magazine. Festivale was founded in October, 1996 to promote Melbourne and Victoria, provide mentorship to developing writers, an outlet for talented fans, and a test bed for software and hardware under review. She lives in Melbourne, Victoria with a garden full of birds.
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Due for Australian release 04 Nov, 2022 (2022-11-04) |
Just the facts:Title: Enola Holmes 2 (2022) The Players: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, David Thewlis, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge Official website: https://www.netflix.com/title/81406219 IMDb entry For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section. For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database. |
Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: 01-Nov-2022
