There’s a new Holmes afoot

Posted on October 2, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous literary figures in history, and one of the most adapted. Actually, according to the Guinness World Records, Sherlock is the most portrayed literary human character in film and TV. As of 2012, he had been depicted on screen 254 times by more than 75 actors.

Since 2012, Sherlock has appeared on screen even more times, and one of the most recent is in the new Netflix film, “Enola Holmes,” although this time he takes a back seat to his younger sister.

Based on the book series by Mancy Springer, “Enola Holmes” follows its title character (Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”) on an adventure through 19th century England as she searches for her missing mother and discovers another mystery to solve along the way.

I suppose there could be an honest debate about whether the allure of the Sherlock stories — regardless if it is the originals or one of the many adaptations — comes more from his personality or the mysteries he is attempting to solve. I mention this because while Enola is a captivating character in her own right, the mysteries she is presented with in this movie are much less successful. In fact, the story is probably the film’s biggest weakness, attempting to do a few too many things to do any of them spectacularly, and delivering two mysteries that aren’t terribly mysterious.

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