Remarkably Bright Creatures, 2026.
Directed by Olivia Newman.
Starring Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Alfred Molina, Colm Meaney, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Donald Sales, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Laura Harris, Meghan Heffern, Brandon McEwan, Emily Giannozio, and Miles Marthaller.
SYNOPSIS:
Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow, learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again.
Living in an aquarium (trapped is perhaps a more accurate perspective) for 1,000+ days and counting, Pacific octopus Marcellus (voiced with a perceptive, sophisticated, calm, sage-like wisdom by Alfred Molina) spends the majority of his time irked at visiting children licking the walls and other patrons generally being disruptive, but also as a highly observant sea creature most drawn to the night shift cleaning lady Tova (Sally Field), whom he gathers is depressed and hurting, choosing to make it his mission to figure out how to heal her while also plotting an escape. The longer co-writer/director Olivia Newman’s Remarkably Bright Creatures (also adapted by John Whittington, based on the book by Shelby Van Pelt) goes on, one also can’t help but want to escape, feeling in the bones that the more cloying this gets, the more it builds toward an absolutely preposterous revelation to tie everything together. It does indeed go in that direction.
Worse still, there was a strong case to be made that one could tell the same story by eliminating the octopus, as his involvement is mostly limited to ponderous narration, rarely contributing to the plot at hand until the film eventually calls for it. When Marcellus isn’t waxing philosophical about the nature of humans and how their behavior and actions sometimes make no sense and occasionally feel beneath his species, he tries to escape that night, which typically ends with him nearly drowning from being out of the water (apparently, his heart rate drops drastically), before a panicking Tova returns him to the aquarium. There are stretches of the film where one forgets the octopus is supposed to be a part of this all.
The human characters quickly began to take over this narrative, as we learn that Tova is an elderly widow still grieving the loss of her son, who apparently died at a young age. As the local convenience store owner puts it (Colm Meany), that late shift at the aquarium is all she has, and she takes the job deeply seriously. It isn’t long before she accidentally falls and sprains her ankle while working, insisting that she can still do what needs to be done until cooler managerial heads intervene and employ a temporary replacement. That individual turns out to be down-on-his-luck Cameron (Lewis Pullman), traveling into this small town in search of a man who supposedly owes him a life-changing sum of money. On the way, his van breaks down, and he also receives more bad news when his pregnant bandmates decide to take a break from touring.
Cameron is an incompetent individual, more concerned with getting paid to fund his vehicular repairs than doing the job correctly, which irritates Tova so much that she joins him for the first few nights to give him lectures he doesn’t want. There is plenty of friction, all while Marcellus picks up on the fact that Cameron is similarly hurting inside (he begins venting his own feelings, just as Tova has done for years). Meanwhile, there is much more going on with each character, as Tova is hiding from her friends that she plans to sell her home and move to an assisted living facility (she detests rumors and gossip for reasons that become clear as the film goes on). Each character is also given a romantic interest, further bogging down the storytelling and taking emphasis away from the aquarium and the thoughtful octopus.
Giving credit where it’s due, the ensemble delivers sincere performances (even with some hokey dialogue) that almost make Remarkably Bright Creatures effective. The problem is that its numerous plot swerves are often so ridiculous that the messaging about family or the pain that gossip can cause when someone is already emotionally wounded comes across as inorganic and lost in all the sappiness. The final piece of dialogue in this film has to be heard to be believed, even if it is exactly as corny as a movie like this would end. What does work here is offset by the trappings of a story more concerned with hacky surprise twists than deepening its characters and their relationships.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
