‘Enola Holmes’: Young Lady on the driver’s seat

Set in the backdrop of suffragette movements in the year 1884 in Victorian England, and starring Millie Bobby Brown as titular character, Henry Cavill as the celebrity detective Sherlock Holmes, Helena Bonham Carter as Eudoria Holmes, a ‘dangerous’ woman and activist, Sam Claflin as Mycroft Holmes and Louis Partridge as a ‘nincompoop’ young Lord on the run, among others and directed by Harry Bradbeer, Enola Holmes, the movie is a dynamic mix of social commentary with full-on entertainment.

Enola Homes, is a dialogue between the status quoist and progressivists, between past and the future or in the words of ‘The Dowager’- the Murderer grand old lady- a conflict between those, who could never focus on ‘what was’ but on ‘what could be’. A lively movie with lively music and excellent cinematography that presents 19th century industrializing London, usually considered dark and damp, full of colours and hope, Enola Holmes is a story of youngest member of Holmes family which is afflicted with a peculiar ‘madness’, searching for her mother in the centre of civilization i.e. London.

Enola’s and Eudoria’s world is a world where books on Feminism and women empowerment are considered seditious and illegal; it’s a world where even men without property and money are not considered to be eligible to vote; it’s a world where wearing the Corset- a symbol of repression which Enola calls ‘preposterous and imprisoning’ - is supposed to ‘free her and allow her to fit in society and take part in its numerous pleasures’; it is a world were Nation is equated with the wealthy, the rich and men and where Widowhood is a symbol of death and evokes fear in others (and therefore also a good disguise!).

The movie from beginning to the end is a critique of patriarchy and conservatism. It repeatedly shows how ‘Gender’ is a social construct, a role that has to be learnt and performed. The female sex has to taught into becoming ‘young ladies’, by making them learn how to laugh, how to eat and how to do embroidery etc. so that they can become ‘acceptable wives and responsible mothers’. If she fails to learn and perform all these things, she is deemed to be a ‘total failure in the world’.

Mycroft Holmes, fearing that his sixteen years old sister who grew up reading Locke, Shakespeare, William Makepeace Thackeray, Mary Wollstonecraft and The Encyclopaedia, etc., trained in Jujutsu and a novice tennis player, will end up as a failure, enlists the help of one Miss Harrison who runs ‘Finishing school for Young Ladies’ and likes to be ahead of time and drives a motorcar, to break Enola up and built her anew. Enola, a ‘misfit’, a ‘wildling’ or say a threat to the patriarchal Victorian world has to be controlled and made ‘acceptable to the Society’.

There are several other social criticisms which the filmmakers have raised through Enola Holmes, which have a contemporary ring to them. Mycroft, a symbol of the traditional world and patriarch of Holmes family, is not able to understand or say even ‘imagine’, why his mother ran away. According to Mycroft, his mother, who is too old to remarry and had no ambitions or passions (Mycroft thinks that he is entitled to know the passions and ambitions of her mother!), had to ensure a ‘decent life’ for Enola and live her remaining life with ‘dignity’. She is called a ‘wild and dangerous woman who raised a dangerous child’. Mycroft thinks that either she is mad or senile, when he discovers that his mother was reading The Subjugation of Women by Johan Stuart Mill and was becoming a ‘Feminist’. In the patriarchal worldview a women’s role is just limited to that of bringing up children and that they can have ambitions and passions is a thought that never crosses the mind; women can’t have a life of their own. Enola and her mother Eudoria Holmes, through their adventures challenge this worldview.

The movie is about the second sex taking control in their hands. They are not going to be bogged down of feel overwhelmed in the presence powerful men. Edith, a black woman who owns a teashop and trains women in Jujutsu, shuts-up the mighty Sherlock Holmes. The scene which runs for around 70 seconds is an excellent criticism of being ‘apolitical’ and of those who are claim to be ‘above politics’. Sensing that Sherlock was not capable of understanding the reasons behind the actions of his mother, Edith says: “you haven’t any hope of understanding any of this because you don’t know what it is to be without power”. Further, when Sherlock says, that he is disinterested in politics because it’s “fatally boring”, Edith replies, its disinteresting to you because “you have no interest in changing the world that suits you so well”. This is an excellent criticism of those who don’t want to have anything to do with politics.

Also, the movie deals with one of the most widely prevalent view about ‘feminist’, independent and ‘strong’ women in our deeply patriarchal world. It is widely believed that ‘feminist/strong/independent’ women do not like ‘weak’ men and that men usually fear strong/independent/feminist women. Lord Tewkesbury is saved by Enola, Enola thinks that she is in a position to help and save young Tewkesbury from a dreaded Killer whom she defeats twice in physical fights. And despite of this Enola ‘likes’ the young Tewkesbury and Tewkesbury is not bothered by the independent and strong Enola. The dynamics between Tewkesbury and Enola challenges the deeply held views about ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’.

Another point that has been raised in the movie is about how patriarchy not only manifests itself through the actions, beliefs and behaviours of men but it also affects the method of thinking of women, i.e. the ones who are its worst victims. Miss Harrison runs the school to train girls into becoming acceptable mothers and wives, she is the one who helps to construct and perpetuate ‘gender roles and identity’. Similarly, it is the grand old lady who killed her son and wants to kill her grandchild, because they are ‘liberals’ and support reforms. She does this under the premises of ‘safety and security of England’, which exposes the patriarchal and class nature of Nation States in general.

One of the important role of Cinema apart from entertaining is to make its audience think and question the received wisdom. A good cinema is one which leaves its viewer with many questions after the show-time ends, the movie Enola Holmes is able to do it in best of the ways.

The movie, though it appears as an excellent entertainer, which it is, is actually a deeply political piece of cinema, with strong contemporary ring to it, speaking through its characters and well written dialogues. The movie ends with Eudoria saying “You have to make some Noise, if you want to be heard”. Audience would definitely like to hear some more noise from Enola, as she continues her journey to find her freedom, her future and her purpose.