It sounds gimmicky, a film in which Millie Bobby Brown plays Sherlock’s irrepressible kid sister. Actually, though, this plush and colourful adaptation of Nancy Springer’s novel is a hoot.
Enola, raised to be curious and independent by her eccentric mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), is thrown into confusion when the latter disappears from their palatial country home. Ignoring the stodgy input of her elder brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), Enola sets off for London, confiding in the audience as she goes.
In that she addresses us directly, Enola feels like a teeny weeny Fleabag — no surprise, as the director, Harry Bradbeer, made that brilliant show.
It’s the perfect part for Brown, who hasn’t been this good since the first series of Stranger Things. She looks so free and timeless. With her gravitas, twitchy energy and cheery wholesomeness, she’s as indebted to Jean Arthur as Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
But what of Sherlock? He says of Enola: “She looks intelligent.” She does. He really doesn’t. The actors here form a mostly solid chain. You don’t need exceptional powers of deduction to spot the weak link. If this franchise is to have a future, Cavill must go.
