Review: A New Look at an Old Story

By Jessica Payne

            Netflix recently released the movie “Enola Holmes,” the film is a twist on the traditional Sherlock Holmes story and offers a look into what it was like to be a woman during the women's suffrage movement.

            The movie released on September 23rd follows the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, Enola. She struggles to find her independence in a world where everything a woman does is judged and regulated.

            She is just as brilliant and talented as her older brother Sherlock and manages to solve two cases before he is able to, but due to her gender she is pushed to live as a woman of the time traditionally does. However, as the movie progresses she fights against this in any way she can. 

            When her mother goes missing Enola makes it her mission to find her with little help from those around her. She experiences London for the first time and the movie shows us the harsh realities of the women's suffrage movement and the sometimes violent and hard aspects of it.

            Through her journey Enola is a role model for women young and old. She fights for what she believes in and ultimately achieves her goal of being recognized for her talent and hard work instead of what society values from women at the time. 

            She leaves us with the parting words that her future is her own, and ours is “up to us.” And she makes her way in the world on her own doing what he is passionate about.

            While the movie is tied to the Sherlock Holmes franchise it takes a long look at the aspects that have very rarely been discussed before arguably adding a much more complex and meaningful story.