Director: Philip Barantini
Writers: Jack Thorne, Nancy Springer
Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter
Synopsis: Detective Enola Holmes heads to Malta, where her aspirations merge in her most complex and dangerous case yet.
When Netflix dropped the first Enola Holmes back in 2020, it was one of the better surprises of that year. A very funny and charming Holmes mystery where the iconic Sherlock is playfully in the background as we follow his sister for the first time. The sequel two years later was equally diverting, even with slightly diminishing returns. So now, here we are some years later with Enola Holmes 3, which quietly dropped on Netflix without any fanfare.
Jack Thorne once again pens the script, but this time Philip Barantini sits in the director’s chair as the film adopts a subtle change in tone. While it carries many of the same traits as its predecessors in terms of editing, energy and breaking the fourth wall, Enola Holmes 3 is more mature and wants to tackle heavier themes. On paper, the film had the potential to be the best of the three. However, as tends to be the case, it has a Netflix problem.
Enola Holmes 3 begins with a wedding. Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) is set to marry Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), but given her desire for independence and after making a name for herself away from her brother’s shadow, she starts to have second thoughts. Meanwhile, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is kidnapped and thus we have the foundation of our mystery for Enola to solve. As she discovers new clues, while running into familiar faces in the process, Enola uncovers a scheme that goes far beyond her brother’s disappearance.
There is a welcomed griminess and prickly underbelly to Enola Holmes 3. At times, it feels as if Barantini wants to push the franchise further with Enola and her relationship with Tewkesbury. To denote her evolving humanity as a young woman whose in love, but also deeply tethered to her identity as an investigator. And, more broadly, tackle themes of colonialism and doing egregious things in the name of The Crown. The problem is that either Thorne, Barantini, or Netflix doesn’t trust the audience to keep up.
Every time the film builds up momentum, there is some sort of flashback to Enola Holmes or Enola Holmes 2 as a wink or reminder as to what happened in those movies. The film simply doesn’t trust you to have seen or remember them at all. The constant pandering and hand-holding here is reminiscent of Netflix’s “repeat the dialogue several times over because audiences are probably doing laundry” reputation. Not only is it tedious and unnecessary, but it takes precious time away from characterization and theme building. This leaves us with half-baked arcs and thinly veiled ideas that don’t carry much of an impact.
Additionally, Thorne’s screenplay tries to Avengers the film by contriving an ending that brings together Enola, Tewkesbury, Dr. Watson, and Eudoria Holmes. There’s a version of Enola Holmes 3 where that does work if the film sharply focused on Enola’s conflicting desires and how that becomes more complicated once she discovers a truth around Malta’s history with the British government. A truth that heavily impacts Tewkesbury, both internally as his status in the system.
In the end, Enola Holmes 3 is a bit of a misfire. The film still has the same endearing qualities as the first two, and at time’s it does push the series to new territory, but the “Netflix-ing” going on here makes for a frustrating experience. Millie Bobby Brown gives a fine performance. Henry Cavill is always wonderful as Sherlock, although his role here is even more muted. Helena Bonham Carter gives the film a fun spark. Louis Partridge is the unsung hero.
