The third installment of Millie Bobby Brown\u2019s addition to the Sherlock Holmes legacy, Enola Holmes, finally hit Netflix on July 1, and the threequel dives into a more mature era of Enola\u2019s life as she ties the knot with Lord Tewkesbury. Don\u2019t get it twisted, though. While there\u2019s an element of romance in the Enola universe, the period piece still thrives on its signature empowering and adventurous storyline. But viewers couldn\u2019t help but be pulled away from the story because of some distracting details in Millie\u2019s on-screen glam and costuming.<\/p>\n
When the movie\u2019s trailer dropped back in April, fans noticed that our fearless heroine was rocking a classic natural 2026 manicure with almond-shaped Apr\u00e9s Gel-X extensions. Others realized her lace-front wig was poorly applied, as her natural hairline peeked through on her forehead. Someone else even criticized Enola\u2019s off-the-shoulder wedding gown and veil during her second-chance nuptials, jokingly adding<\/a>, \u201cObsessed with the new Enola Holmes movie not even trying to make her wedding dress look like it\u2019s from the 19th century.\u201d<\/p>\n Millie, who has produced all three Enola films since 2020, even weighed in on the criticism upon the movie\u2019s official release, telling the BBC that she finds \u201cnitpicking\u201d her appearance to be \u201cboring\u201d when there\u2019s a larger narrative at play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so boring. I\u2019m like, guys, come on. Like, just enjoy the artistry of the work,\u201d Millie said in the interview published on Sunday, July 5, later adding, \u201cI don\u2019t do that to other [projects]. I\u2019m not the kind of girl to be, \u2018Oh my God, did you see the way that wig was laid?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Of the reaction to her manicure and hairstyling choices, MBB added, \u201cI wasn\u2019t disappointed\u2026but again, the internet does not surprise me these days.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Nancy Springer\u2019s book franchise was written throughout the 2000s, it\u2019s set in 19th-century Victorian-era England and focuses on historical themes including women\u2019s suffrage, labor rights, and the British Empire. And though Millie rightfully tried to emphasize that there\u2019s more to the role than her appearance, her delivery didn\u2019t quite land with viewers.<\/p>\n \u201cPeriod pieces fail the second modern beauty standards leak in. Audiences read authenticity through tiny details now,\u201d one person criticized<\/a>, while another wrote<\/a>, \u201cIf a detail takes you out of the illusion or story then it\u2019s a problem.\u201d Others even argued that hairstyling, nail design, and makeup application are still considered forms of artistry, as the Academy Awards have recognized and awarded glam teams for their efforts since 1982.<\/p>\n As a viewer, I\u2019ve found myself getting distracted by such details\u2014especially in period pieces\u2014being missed over the years. Greta Gerwig\u2019s 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott\u2019s 1860s novel, Little Women, similarly received flak<\/a> for not being historically accurate in its lack of bonnets and aprons during the American Civil War. Sure, the Marches are a bit unconventional and might argue against certain societal expectations. But they wouldn\u2019t totally dismiss a simple part of their dressing, either.<\/p>\n Emerald Fennell\u2019s 2026 adaptation of Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s Wuthering Heights also caused a stir with literature fans, as some claimed her interpretation was a \u201c50 Shades of Bridgerton style distortion of a Bront\u00eb novel\u201d with costuming that didn\u2019t necessarily follow the original piece\u2019s historical elements. It\u2019s something that Bridgerton\u2014which isn\u2019t necessarily a period piece, but set in a glossy and modernized version of the Regency era\u2014also misses the mark on. Like, yeah, I am going to notice when Jacob Elordi\u2019s fake sideburns blow in the wind or when Nicola Coughlin is wearing wispy lash inserts and layers of glowy Pat McGrath blush.<\/p>\n To be fair, Bridgerton is fully fictional and meant to sell a fantasy. Fennell also never claimed she was going the historically accurate route when it came to Cathy and Heathcliff\u2019s story, as she told the BBC<\/a>, \u201cI wanted to make something that was the book that I experienced when I was 14.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicola Coughlin in Bridgerton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Though Enola takes liberties with certain aspects of the story, it remains a period piece at its core, since it builds off the Sherlock Holmes universe created in the 1800s. The fact is, Millie should be defending her character aside from her appearance because there is so much more to women beyond their looks. The way she approached her take isn\u2019t as powerful as she might have hoped, because she isn\u2019t seeing the audience where they\u2019re at. The main concern wasn\u2019t about her appearance, but the lack of historical accuracy that causes the story to lose part of its integrity.<\/p>\n Folks aren\u2019t wrong to vouch for historical pieces to be treated with the preservation and care they deserve, because there\u2019s a reason such stories are adapted time and time again, from the March sisters\u2019 timeless coming-of-age to Sherlock Holmes\u2019s centuries-old legacy living on through his younger sister, Enola.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/60adbcd5-889e-4d03-bed2-6c4cc415d5d4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1xh;0.175xw,0xh&resize=980:*\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/aea9a66e-a8b3-4571-a48a-6c32eb732626.jpg?crop=0.563xw:1xh;0.194xw,0xh&resize=980:*\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\n