In the very beginning of the film, the audience is introduced to a young girl named Enola, played by Millie Bobby Brown. She lives in the countryside of England with only her mother, and we quickly learn that she lives a very unconventional life. Rather than sending her to school, her mother teaches her only the skills she deems necessary. Enola is very intelligent and talented, one of her biggest talents being solving cyphers, which are messages written in a secret code. She reveals that even her name is a cypher. Enola backwards spells alone, which foreshadows later events.
Enola wakes up on her 16th birthday, only to find that her mother has mysteriously disappeared. Certain that her mother wouldn’t just abandon her, Enola decides it’s up to her to find her mother. Given her unique skills and detective brother, Sherlock Holmes, she is determined to find her mother.
On this dangerous and mysterious journey, Enola encounters several new friends and obstacles. She uses her martial arts skills to fight off a killer, her cypher skills to discover clues and her logic to outsmart the bad guys. She is the true hero of this story.
This film should be shown to all young girls. It perfectly captures that women are capable of anything they set their minds to. All the men in this story are only there to hold Enola back, which I think is such a powerful message. While taking help from others can be a good thing, sometimes you must do a job yourself. Enola is a beautiful girl, but her beauty is never mentioned. This doesn’t mean she isn’t praised throughout the film. It means she is praised for her intelligence and character. The film also features a few other inspiring female characters, which Enola meets along the way.
This film was fantastic. It was extremely entertaining, while also conveying several important messages. It shows how important family is, and how powerful females can be. I think young girls will look up to Enola Holmes in so many ways. This film will allow young girls to see that they are strong, smart, and beautiful. They can be anything they want to be.