Harry Bradbeer is back as director, deploying a slate of similar techniques - breaking the fourth wall, dynamic perspective shifts, the occasional expository animated sequence, scenes reveling in Enola’s jiu jitsu skills. The whimsical meanderings only lengthen the film and, unfortunately, fuel our impatience for the end. The two don’t know how to connect and often end up misunderstanding or talking past each other, and it’s in those moments that we see Enola and Sherlock’s characters develop the most.Īs the siblings’ paths cross with more frequency, Enola Holmes 2 swings and swerves in directions that interrupt the steady pacing. Their loving but tense sibling dynamic is one of the most interesting parts of Enola Holmes 2: Brown and Cavill have a delightful on-screen dynamic that believably replicates the caustic communication style typical between older and younger siblings. With the increased stakes, Enola begrudgingly seeks Sherlock’s advice. The pieces come together with satisfying ease until Enola realizes that her case is much bigger than a missing person one it’s about corruption, corporate greed, fraud and an underground labor movement. Enola goes undercover as a match factory girl and collects early clues - a strand of hair, a burned note and discarded letters - that help her write the narrative of Sarah’s disappearance. The cobble-stoned streets and stately Victorian-style buildings are replaced by muddied roads and smoggy factories. And the understandable urge to snip and tidy them before the credits roll translates to a film dogged by uneven pacing.Įnola Holmes 2 initially moves with a steady hum as Enola follows Bess into a different part of London. If we are to take Eudoria’s (a delightful Helena Bonham Carter) advice to Enola about detective work seriously - the profession’s only rule is to “pull on every loose thread” - then, while these wayward filaments don’t unravel the garment, they do become unnecessary distractions. While Enola Holmes 2 is dedicated to our determined heroine’s perspective, it occasionally entertains Sherlock’s point of view - shifts that awkwardly bifurcate the film’s focus and create one too many loose ends. Sherlock, who became Enola’s legal guardian at the end of the first film, must now balance his own work with his fraternal duties. Enola isn’t only preoccupied by Sarah’s disappearance she is also navigating burgeoning feelings for Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) and trying to escape her brother Sherlock’s (Henry Cavill) shadow and condescending interventions. This additional responsibility weighs on the film, which struggles to maneuver its excess baggage. But as the second installment in what is now comfortably a franchise, Enola Holmes 2 must also build a sturdy foundation for more of its main character’s adventures. Similar to its popular predecessor, Enola Holmes 2 anchors its protagonist in the real-life sociopolitical battles of her time - an approach that heightens the stakes of her cases and invites viewers to flex their own detective skills. The search for Sarah, a missing match factory worker, vaults Enola into the thick of a brewing labor fight and sends her through the maze of London’s working-class politics. When Bess (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) wanders into Enola’s office, the dejected investigator is at once surprised and psyched. Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, David Thewlis, Louis Partridge, Helena Bonham Carter
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |