‘Enola Holmes 3’ Review: Know Yourself Above All Else

Do all good stories begin with a wedding? Well, Enola Holmes 3 seems to think so! And, because we begin with Millie Bobby Brown as the face and the name up in big lights, the movie manages to feel like a natural extension of this larger series.

Not 10 minutes into the proceedings, and we get Brown’s character experiencing her own name change. Albeit, for dramatic effect, and briefly. Enola Tewkesbury doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. And, the conventional trappings of life as a lady has been something Enola has been pushing against from the moment this series began.

More than anything, the change in scenery underlines the biggest piece of Enola Holmes’ development in this third chapter. Namely, things are changing and we’re all coming of age, even when we seem to have reached “adulthood.” Brown’s performance does a great job of conveying a woman who is no longer the precocious young woman we met in the first installment.

To really drive that point home, the viewer is whisked to a new destination. Malta is a good change of scenery when it comes to this series. Who doesn’t love a seaside wedding after all? It’s not long before the stretched out sun and sandy desert of our new locations leads to Enola’s life being turned upside down yet again. And, that might be the most interesting thing about the third entry in this franchise.

Enola Holmes 3 Is All About Growing Up

Helena Bonham Carter’s Eudoria Holmes has been a fan-favorite part of these films. When you need an eccentric lady in a stylized adventure film, she’s often the first ring. But, Enola’s path has always intersected with her imperfect mother. That line about the dual paths we can take in life really hits home for me upon review.

The path that others set in place for us can offer comfort and the stability of routine. But often, you will have to strike out on your own to make a mark on the world. Well, provided that is what you want…

Anyone who has walked down the aisle will both understand and resonate with Brown’s pained tightrope walk throughout Enola Holmes 3. It’s hard figuring out how to fit the well-crafted personality you’ve spent a lifetime cultivating around another person, increased responsibility, and the expectations of ‘Society.’

But, if anyone can manage it, it’s our erstwhile heroine. Even if she’s receiving very little, if any support from her closest family member in Sherlock Holmes. As with other entries, I adore the interplay between Henry Cavill’s gruff detective and Brown. The elder Holmes speaks for “a certain subset of viewers” who believes this whole getting married business to be beneath Enola.

However, the world is more complicated than we can simply deduct. As Enola tries to make sense of seemingly disconnected events in her investigation and personal life, things reveal themselves to be a part of a larger game afoot.

Everyone gets the chance to shine. And, the entire movie carries the air of a fond farewell. But, we all know things are rarely that neat in this era of streaming TV and movies. 

What’s next for Enola?

Still, by the time the credits roll, it feels like we have progressed to true and full adulthood with Enola. She’s more sure of herself. The adults in her life have fully accepted their detective as someone with a lot more agency than any of them gave her credit for.

By the way, the exchange between Sherlock and his sister near the end will stir your heartstrings more than you might imagine. We also have to shout out Sharon Brewster-Duncan’s positively unhinged Mira Troy as the engine that propels this story alongside Brown’s detective work.

A lot of the whole “Sherlock Holmes deal” involves not thinking too hard about the specifics of how the Holmes family would have gotten that wealth. It seems that writer Jack Thorne and director Philip Barantini found a way to address some of the inequality at play during this era of British history. (And, arguably to this day!)

You can see the outlines of an Enola Holmes 4 in the offing. That would be great. But, even if it doesn’t happen. This journey of self-discovery has been worth the time for everyone watching at home. We’re always changing and it’s nice to be reminded of that fact.

Enola Holmes is out on July 1.  

(Photo Credit: Netflix)

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