Anyone who is able to take a relatively likeable but slight novel aimed at young adults, and turn it into a riveting adventure that the entire family can enjoy is worth paying attention to, so it only stands to reason the people behind Enola Holmes are Jack Thorn, the writer tasked with continuing the legacy of the Harry Potter series with the recent stage production, and Harry Bradbeer, who has finally found his way to film, after decades of solid work directing for television, with amongst his most notable achievements being helming almost every episode of the cultural sensation Fleabag. At first, you’d be forgiven for not thinking too much of Enola Holmes – the series of novels by Nancy Springer were certainly popular and carried immense merit with younger readers, but otherwise were not something that had much crossover appeal with individuals outside of its target audience – and by all means, this adaptation wasn’t looking to be anything particularly noteworthy either, simply a charming adaptation of the first novel in the series. Thorn and Bradbeer, in their collaboration, managed to take the multitude of ideas introduced by Springer, and transposing them onto the screen in surprising, and often utterly delightful, ways. The final result is an enthralling mystery adventure that has overtures of comedy, peril and romance, all of which are infused into every frame, turning this into one of the year’s most sneakily brilliant films, an intelligent comedy that has just as much heart as it does unending wit, which more than warrants all the acclaim that it has received since its release. It’s not a major work, but it’s just about as entertaining as a film like this could get, and for that reason alone, it’s not difficult to proclaim Enola Holmes as one of the year’s most lovely surprises.

Family-oriented entertainment is often derided for being overly simplistic and pedestrian, almost perceived as being somewhat inferior, which does a great disservice to films like Enola Holmes, which carry their own unique artistic integrity, even if they’re not quite as prominent as works that demand attention. Bradbeer has had a long career that has brought him the experience needed to work with this material – and it only helps that he has oscillated between so many different genres, he’s touched on numerous conventions that all come into play at some point in this film. It’s also not surprising that this film was made – Sherlock Holmes has never been more relevant, and after countless films, television shows and other forms of media that situate Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective in nearly every conceivable setting and genre, we’ve seen everything that can be said about him – until now, where Springer’s quaint but endearing portrayal of Holmes as a secondary character to his equally-intuitive and resourceful sister, gives us a chance to see him in a very different way, as a mentor figure rather than the central character. It’s a refreshing approach, and Bradbeer and Thorn bring out every bit of potential from what could’ve easily been seen as a cheap attempt to profit off the evergreen popularity of one of fiction’s finest creations – we’ve seen it done many times before, so it wouldn’t have been the first instance – and through filling Enola Holmes with a blend of heart, humour and action-packed adventure, it’s not difficult to see why this has become such a wonderfully popular film.

As we tend to see with adaptations of the Holmes stories, the one key element that persists throughout all of them is a charismatic lead, with various actors looking at Sherlock through different lenses, but keeping him restrained to the point where each one offers something unique and worthwhile. A detective story means very little if the character isn’t someone the audience wants to accompany on their journey. This exact quality is passed down to the character of Enola, who has the benefit of being just as brilliant as her brother, but with the added quality of being a very different kind of character, which opens the world of this story up to new discussions. In this regard, Millie Bobby Brown seems to have another major moment in her already impressive career, showing herself as someone who can lead a film through her wonderful charm and incredible control of character. We really become acquainted with Enola, following her every move, and constantly having access to her inner thoughts (conveyed through the time-tested method of breaking the fourth wall), while watching her flourish as a character. Brown is such a delightful lead, turning in a performance that feels like one that should be a star-making moment for her – and for those who aren’t enamoured with her culturally-significant work in Stranger Things, this represents a great chance to see her outside of that context, and giving a fundamentally different kind of performance. Despite the presence of quite an impressive roster of names in the cast – Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter and Frances de la Tour all appear consistently throughout – Enola Holmes is anchored entirely by Brown, who makes the film her own, and states her case as one of the more exciting young actresses working today.

Enola Holmes is a film propelled primarily by a sense of fun – and in his position of director, Bradbeer does more to explore the world the film is portraying than many tasked with this material would. Over the course of the film, we’re thrust into an environment that is constructed by a general sense of witty intelligence, where there are surprises lurking around every corner – it’s imperative that a mystery film doesn’t restrict itself to simply demonstrating, but should rather take the audience along with it, getting us involved in the story and turning us into amateur detectives on the way. There are some twists and turns here that the eagle-eyed viewer can see coming from a distance, but this doesn’t preclude Enola Holmes from making the best of these situations. This is all done through Bradbeer’s incredible work in transforming Thorn’s script into an intelligent comedy that is as heartfelt as it is action-packed, rather than allowing the genial but otherwise slight humour to be what the audiences remember the most. This isn’t only a film about the younger daughter of fiction’s most popular detective, and the ways in which she carries some of her brother’s intuition and a knack for making connections – it’s an uplifting comedy about a young woman making her way through a world that wasn’t quite as interested in her perspective as it would be today. The feminist leanings of Enola Holmes do not go to waste – there are moments of genuine profundity lurking throughout the film, and while some of this may be abandoned far too early, or not given the thorough attention as other narrative threads, it does prove that this film is a lot more complex than it would appear in theory.

It’s always a pleasant surprise when a film proposes to be something more slight, but gradually proves to be a lot more interesting than we’d expect based on a superficial glance. Going into this film, you’d be quite right in thinking that it was going to be a subversion of the popular detective story, taken from the perspective of a teenager – but it’s the ways in which the film uses this premise that carries the most value, extracting all the potential humour from it, and situating it alongside a genuine sense of tender emotion that makes this quite a diverse work that goes in numerous different directions, and is never quite satisfied to just remain in its own preconceived lane, instead finding its own voice through the carefully-curated chaos it inspires. It’s not a work that is going to necessarily redefine any particular genre, but instead functions as a wonderful showcase for the talented Millie Bobby Brown, who is already well on her way to becoming a very versatile actress, and as a bold and entertaining piece of filmmaking that intends to have fun more than it does try and change the way we perceive these stories. Smaller in scope, but no less prodigious in terms of both intelligence and wit, Enola Holmes is a true delight, a charming comedy that finds its scrappy but resourceful way through a perilous world, and emerges triumphant and unforgettable.