Pedro Sanchez – Google

Chilling. Artful. Brilliant. I loved how the only clues we had from what was happening was from the views of those documenting it through photography. We have almost no context as to why the war began, only that it is happening and these people are trying to document it. It tells why art is all the more important in tumultuous times. Each of the photos they shot told us a story. I loved the nod to Lee Miller too, another brilliant wartime photographer. Kirsten Dunst played a very believably numbed to the danger of war, Lee Smith. Her counterpart who was in contrast invigorated by the action, Joe, played by Wagner Moura. Together they showed the two sides of a response to being thrown into a war in our very own back yard. I felt like it was hard to watch and yet I couldn’t look away. A tactful reminder of a horror of a possible future. I hope we take its message to heart.

It was good, not great. I thought it was worth the watch, cinematography and visual imagery was stunning. Acting was great, though I thought Enola interacting with the audience was a little underutilized (but well done by Millie Bobby Brown). However, the overt feminist points could have been better achieved. Why did they insert a token black woman instead of making her a main character? Why did her mom run away to blow up the patriarchy without that actually being part of the plot? Why did they desecrate Sherlock Holmes by implying his kid sister more of a genius than Sherlock himself? The main idea of making it about Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister was great, however the plot and pacing could have been better. Overall a decent watch, but missed its potential.