Most of the byproducts of movie studio’s search for IP is bad for the moviegoer: vapid, soulless efforts designed to extract cash and offer nothing of artistic value. Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of the rare exceptions, as Netflix has clearly planted its flag on the Octopus universe, finding every movie about the cephalopods they can find and making movies about them. Can’t wait for their Avengers, taking revenge on the Detroit Red Wings. If you know, you know.
The octopus in Remarkably Bright Creatures is Marcellus (Alfred Molina), an injured Pacific octopus nearing the end of his days, tormented by schoolchildren on field trips. His lone bright spot of his day is Tova (Sally Field), the lonely, sweet janitor cleaning up after hours, talking to Marcellus and treating him like her friend/therapist. Two things agitate Marcellus and Tova: the octopus tries to escape his aquarium home, and inadvertently sprains the poor woman’s ankle, keeping her away from work for a few weeks. She’s replaced by temp Cameron (Lewis Pullman), new in town, searching for a dad he never knew who owes him money…and takes little pride in cleaning the aquarium to Tova/Marcellus’s satisfaction.
Remarkably Bright Creatures knows its from another time. Writer/director Olivia Newman has clear affection for these 1990s lovely fall releases you’d take grandma to in the theaters, and have a nice lunch with them. She goes to great lengths to drop us in Sowell Bay, the place out of time. The landscape is that majestic type you’d only see in the Pacific northwest (Vancouver standing in for Washington), as each important scene is backdropped by gorgeous water in front of green mountains and grey skies. Or the impossible adorable small town (Deep Cove, North Vancouver), filled with lovely people harboring deep sadness, searching for love and acceptance. The story itself is basically your standard adult drama, but the octopus voiceover allows for that puzzle piece like fantastical storytelling of coincidence. Stories like this one work best when they wrap up in a tidy little package, using the mostly schmaltzy plot twists imaginable to conjure the most tears. So when Tova and Cameron meet at Sowell Bay’s dock at an impossibly beautiful sunset, I came armed with my tears, ready for anything; thankfully this one didn’t disappoint.
The other way Olivia Newman helps reminisce about those 1990s melodramas is casting the stars of the era in them. It’s really unfair Sally Field hasn’t had a real shot at a great movie in a while, you know, being one of the great living actors on the planet. This material is probably beneath her, but she’s ready and willing to give her all to the story to make it work. Her big “Oscar moment” is wonderfully nuanced, showing that age has not diminished Field’s talent for finding the humanity and character inside some of the most overwrought dramatic storytelling. Bill Pullman aged out of Cameron’s part, but his son Lewis looks just like him, AND he got dad’s acting skills, perfect! He’s been better, but he’s very sweet here, almost treating this movie like some acting school learning from Field and the other greats like Colm Meany and the Knit-Wits, Tova’s knitting friends. That’s the biggest reason I knew Remarkably Bright Creatures was gonna capture that great “grandma matinee” nostalgia. Joan Chen, Beth Grant, and Kathy Baker are having a blast with Sally Field, hanging out in Vancouver, living the good life. I would watch a sequel with Field, Grant, Chen, and Baker, right now, hanging out and leading Sowell Bay’s gossip column.
So, yeah. Remarkably Bright Creatures is the movie version of a vacation. Just let everything go, and get swept away by great actors giving a good cry in a beautiful place. And, Hollywood Brass, I hope you saw Sally Field’s still got it; put her and the Knit-Wits in something else, ASAP! What are you afraid of, making good movies?