We saw "Enola Holmes" during the holidays. It stars Millie Bobby Brown as Enola, and Henry Cavill as Enola's older brother Sherlock. Helena Bonham Carter also appears, as their unconventional and mysterious mother Eudoria. When Eudoria disappears unexpectedly, eldest brother Mycroft determines that it is time to send Enola off to finishing school to become a proper young lady. She escapes and sets out to find her mother. Along the way she becomes embroiled in another mystery involving a young Viscount who is supposed to be taking his father's seat in the House of Lords.
It was enjoyable, though a bit twee. It is as though Netflix felt like two of their biggest stars needed something to do while waiting for new seasons of Stranger Things and The Witcher to arrive. Millie Bobby Brown is delightful and it was interesting to see Henry Cavill in a role where he doesn't kill anything or beat anyone up. One had the sense that his biceps might tear through the fabric of his period-appropriate Chesterfield overcoat at any moment, but aside from that he was fine in the role.
A second installment of the Enola Holmes program was recently released, with Millie Bobbie Brown and Henry Cavill both returning. An interesting aspect of this episode is that it's loosely inspired by real history, the Match Girls' Strike. Hired to locate a missing girl named Sarah Chapman, Enola learns that her disappearance is related to bribery, government corruption, and the coverup of the real reason that many girls who work at the match factory are becoming sick and dying. Chapman, it turns out, had uncovered the truth and was attempting to expose powerful figures.
The real world Sarah Chapman wasn't a sleuth, but did lead a strike that was a notable event for organized labor and for working women in particular.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchgirls%27_strikeIt's every bit as twee as the first installment, but Millie Bobby Brown is delightful, and I hadn't heard of the Match Girl's Strike before this, so it was educational as well (though certainly not a documentary.)
-k
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