A One Mann’s Movies review of “Remarkably Bright Creatures”. (2026, 3.5*, 12).
With apologies to Ms Field, in the unlikely event she happens to be reading this, but the now veteran actor Sally Field is not someone that I have ever particularly warmed to on the screen. I think it’s because her brand of chirpy American is the sort that just generally rubs me up the wrong way. Even in her classic roles like “Lincoln“, “Forrest Gump”, “Steel Magnolias”, etc. I’ve just never found her 100% believable: she often seems to be ‘acting’ to me. As such, I approached the Netflix-streaming film “Remarkably Bright Creatures” with some trepidation. But, I have to say, I think it’s Field’s best performance for many years.
With it’s cleaning lady and aquatic setting, the film almost feels like a variant on “The Shape of Water” – but with a less alien protagonist!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Tova Sullivan (Sally Field) lives alone in a house by the lake of a small American rural town. She is a cleaner at the local aquarium. As an old, wise octopus narrates to us (yes… the film is narrated by an octopus!), Tova has had much pain in her life that she has been unable to move on from. Arriving into the town is the equally adrift Cameron Cassmore (Lewis Pullman) who forms an unlikely friendship with the lonely widow.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC website: “Suicide references, language, drug misuse.”)
Talent:
Starring: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Alfred Molina.
Directed by: Olivia Newman.
Written by: Olivia Newman & John Whittington. (Based on the book by Shelby Van Pelt.)
Running Time: 1h 51m.
Review:
Positives:
- Lightweight and fluffy as the story is, it manages to deliver feelgood vibes as we explore the troubled lives of the disparate pair and see how they help each other to navigate their way out of the personal cul-de-sacs they are in.
- There are, of course, two potential love stories at play running in parallel within the script: there’s Tova’s relationship with the kindly and Grateful-Dead-loving grocery-store owner Ethan (the ever-watchable Colm Meaney), which is genuinely sweet; then there is the on/off attraction between Cameron (Pullman) and the surf-shop-babe Avery (Sofia Black-D’Elia). Pullman and Black-D’Elia seem really well cast for this. Pullman is, in some ways, such an odd choice as a leading man: a bit gawky and awkward, such that if you were to cast him against someone like Margot Robbie, the viewer would be saying “Fuck off…. he wouldn’t stand a chance!!”. Not to say that Ms Black-D’Elia is remotely unattractive, but she has something of a ‘girl next door’ quality about her that makes the relationship much more believable.
- As I said in my intro, I was impressed by Sally Field: I thought she delivered the more poignant bits of the film really well. And it was a surprise to find out that the voice of Marcellus is supplied by Alfred Molina: who must be the only actor in history to be able to say he has been acting as two forms of octopus in different films!
- The script has some really nice lines. A couple of my favourites:
“It attracts attention when they most want to hide.” (About blushing being a human design flaw.)
“It seems to be a hallmark of the human species – abysmal communication skills. Why can’t humans use their millions of words to tell each other what they desire?”
- If in doubt, close with a clever, killing line. And this film does. A line that upturns your concept about the film’s title.
Negatives:
- Will you buy into the concept of the narrating octopus? Yes, it’s strikingly unusual as the film begins, but as regular readers of this blog will know, I generally dislike narration in films, full stop. I’m not really sure, other than for novelty value, whether the device added a lot to the story.
- You might also need to suspend your disbelief about a twist in the plot, whether or not the octopus was responsible for it or not! (Maybe you will, but its something that I didn’t see coming.)
- While I generally enjoyed the screenplay, some scenes came across as clunky and corny. Cameron confronting his angry father on the doorstep was a low-point for me, both script-wise and acting-wise. Also, I’m not sure that the shop-owners of this sleepy US backwater would make ANY money in their stores, based on the freebies that they seem intent on giving away: this seems to be a rose-coloured rural America that I have never travelled to!
Summary Thoughts:
Olivia Newman’s last film was “Where the Crawdads Sing“: a film that I’m afraid I didn’t rave about. Although a much ‘smaller’ film, I preferred this offering. I’m not sure I’ll much remember it in a few months time, but while I was watching it, I enjoyed it.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b14IFe4an5k.
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