It starts off in snappy form, with Brown speaking directly to the camera and showing a lightness of touch that she could not bring to her work in Stranger Things. She introduces us not only to Holmes family, as imagined in these non-canon outings, but also to a Victorian England on the verge of change. Much of the plot, though never explicitly stated, deals with a Reform Bill to give women the vote – an alternative timeline running nearly 40 years ahead of the real-life suffrage victory in 1918.

If that all sounds a little on the heavy side, fear not. Enola Holmes positions itself within the family-friendly adventure genre. The nasty particulars of how women were, and unfortunately still are, treated are only ever alluded too, enough perhaps to spark the conversations needed. For the most part, however, this is a fast-paced romp as Enola works to outsmart everyone around her.

Brown is brilliant in the lead role, handling the comedic and dramatic moments with flair. The rest of the performances are good as well, with Partridge bringing warmth to what could have been a two-dimensional character. Despite having little time to shine, Cavill and Claflin also do well as the famous Holmes siblings. Claflin is suitably misanthropic, while Cavill is charming as Sherlock (his added emotion the cause of controversy with the Doyle estate).

There’s also an excellent cameo from Fiona Shaw as the stern headmistress of Enola’s finishing school, which is mined for some of the funnier moments of the film. Then there’s Burn Gorman, who many will know as Karl Tanner in Game of Thrones, as the murderous pursuer Linthorn. Gorman has a knack for playing villainous characters and here is no different. His assaults on the leads are uncomfortable, stretching the family-friendly tag to breaking point, especially during his one-on-one fight with Brown.

There’s precedent for this of course. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and George Lucas’ Indiana Jones series tested the archaic ratings system with new levels of violence and horror, yet both would have muzzled without them. The Dark Knight is the Joker’s film, while the Temple of Doom would seem toothless if there was no temple, or doom, to back it up. Here, it feels less integral, a tonal shift that heightens the peril but unnecessarily so. 

This is the problem with Enola Holmes. It wants to be a big budget adaption, full of action and adventure, and Netflix’s deep pockets have certainly made this possible. Yet it tries to do too much. Is it a light and whimsical comedy, or a bone crunching action flick (more like Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock adaptions)? The hunt for Enola’s mother takes a backseat, barely mentioned in the second half of the film, which leads to an unsatisfying conclusion. While the mystery surrounding the imperilled Lord, often feels like an attempt to soften Enola, teasing a relationship with the teenage runaway.

It’s not that Enola should be either an independent hard-boiled detective, or a young woman with the layers and emotions we expect. There is no binary choice here, but more often than not the film positions it as such, doing a disservice to the character and leading to a fast-paced but muddled film.

★★ ½