Enola Holmes is back.
Sherlock Holmes’ brave, cheeky, independent little sister, a brilliant detective in her own right, takes viewers on another action-packed adventure in the movie “Enola Holmes 2,” which started streaming on Netflix on Nov. 4.
Millie Bobby Brown was glad to return to the role. “To step back into the role of Enola made me really happy because I got to explore who she was again and find out more about her. For me, to step into that role again was amazing,” she told Super during a Zoom interview.
Based on “The Enola Holmes Mysteries” book series by Nancy Springer, the sequel reunited Brown with director Harry Bradbeer (“Killing Eve,” “Fleabag”) and costars Henry Cavill (Sherlock Holmes), Louis Partridge (Tewkesbury), Susan Wokoma (Edith) and Helena Bonham Carter (Eudoria Holmes).
First case
In “Enola Holmes 2,” we see Enola putting up her own detective agency in London—but signing up clients while in the shadow of her older, more successful brother proved harder than expected. She finally takes on a case—the search for a poor matchstick girl’s missing sister, a case that brings Enola face to face with the harsh realities of life for young girls in Victorian-era London.
Bradbeer said, “We wanted to tell a story that brought Enola into contact with people outside her background and class by introducing her to working girls of her own age. That was something I was very excited about.”
Grittier, more dangerous
Bradbeer and screenwriter Jack Thorne collaborated on a story inspired by the 1888 match girls’ strike—when 1,400 women and girls refused to continue working at the Bryant & May factory in protest of poor treatment and horrible working conditions. It would go on to become an important moment in British labor history and activism.
“We wanted this to be more of a grown up film, with a grittier, more dangerous story,” Bradbeer said.
And that’s what it was. It’s like the first Enola film on steroids. Legendary Pictures producer Ali Mendes said, “We wanted to keep that energy in the second movie but we also wanted to deepen it and heighten the tension. We wanted a deeper mystery, a grander adventure, more action, bigger set pieces, a more mature love story.”
She added, “We have all these different storylines: A murder-mystery, a love story, and a family drama all happening the same time.”
Brown said, “We’ve really upped the ante from the first film.”
She told Super, “In the first film, we followed a young woman trying to find who she was but in the second film, she is trying to find allies in the society that kind of rejects her and she’s also trying to prove herself.”
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Read: Millie Bobby Brown is Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister
Meeting expectations
Brown was a producer for both films.
“I really wanted to prove myself and stand in the role of a producer,” she said. She continued, “I didn’t want the easy way out, I didn’t want the shortcut. I want to receive all the tasks and expectations that any other person would be expected to do.”
The desire to prove herself is something she and Enola have in common, she said. “I think many people have gone through that struggle. And I think that’s what’s so beautiful about this film. You can really see that message and be able to resonate with it and problem solve and figure out what in their life they want to achieve, and how they will achieve it.”
In the film, Enola learns the importance of finding allies—and that includes Tewkesbury. Brown talked about a scene where Enola finally allows herself to be vulnerable (while still staying completely Enola). “It’s like Enola finally letting her wall down and finding allies in plain sight… but also—[even though] she doesn’t really trust men at all—being able to let a boy into her life, into her personal life. It feels so beautifully written and directed and I felt like I had a real honor of playing that scene.”
“Of course, this is a role I want to keep playing. I think there’s so much more story to tell. She’s addicting.”
“Enola Holmes 2” is now streaming on Netflix.
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