Synopsis: While working nights at a small-town aquarium, a widow bonds with a clever octopus and an adrift young man.
Stars: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Colm Meaney, Alfred Molina
Director: Olivia Newman
Rated: PG-13
Running Length: 111 minutes
Movie Review in Brief: A Netflix adaptation that had every excuse to be schmaltzy and turns out to be genuinely affecting, with Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, and a CGI octopus voiced by Alfred Molina doing the heavy lifting.
Remarkably Bright Creatures Review: Eight Arms, Open Heart
Before committing to writing this review of Remarkably Bright Creatures, I expected to roll my eyes through the film. Olivia Newman’s adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt‘s 2022 bestseller is a Netflix tearjerker about a widow and a sentient octopus. That premise can become overly sentimental in no time. The good news is that it doesn’t. This film earns its emotions, and I genuinely enjoyed it.
The story unfolds in the fictional coastal town of Sowell Bay, Washington and Newman captures the Pacific Northwest in a way that truly reflects its beauty. The streets shine after the rain. A fine mist fills the air. The ocean is always nearby. The docks extend into the water, almost as if they are making a statement that here, your possibilities are endless. It’s postcard-perfect, and the film knows how to showcase it.
A Widow, a Drifter, and an Octopus Walk Into an Aquarium
Tova Sullivan (Sally Field, Steel Magnolias) works the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Her husband has passed away, and her son vanished in Puget Sound years ago. She carries plenty of unaddressed grief. For her, mopping floors after hours is a way to keep moving forward.
Her routine involves one-sided conversations with a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus, voiced by Alfred Molina (The Water Man and Field’s co-star in 1991’s Not Without My Daughter) with a crisp, knowing cadence. As in the book, Marcellus narrates the film. That might seem like a strange choice, yet it works for the nearly two-hour run time. This is no ordinary cephalopod, though. He is grumpy, observant, and has opinions about humans.
Then Cameron (Lewis Pullman, Salem’s Lot), a young man with dreams of fame and a lack of parental guidance, arrives in town. He’s looking for someone he hasn’t found yet and the quest has brought him to Sowell Bay. Tova injures her foot around the time he arrives, and so Cameron picks up her shifts at the aquarium and sticks around even after she returns. Marcellus, who has watched humans his entire captive life, notices the connection between Tova and Cameron before either of them does. He decides to intervene.
A Throwback Tearjerker With Modern Bones
I always find it interesting to see what roles actors like Sally Field choose in their careers. She hasn’t appearned much onscreen since her Best Supporting Actress nomination for Lincoln in 2012. So when she does take a part, it must be for a good reason. Van Pelt has mentioned that she imagined Field while writing Tova. The casting feels like a perfect match that neither of them anticipated. Field portrays Tova with a grounding practicality that makes the emotional moments resonate. She is sharp, funny, and sad, and she trusts the audience to keep up.
Pullman has a talent for picking roles that surprise audiences (The Starling Girl, Skincare, The Testament of Ann Lee, etc.), and Cameron is a great fit for his unique charm. He navigates the man-child aspect of the character without being overly cute and understands the heartbreak lurking beneath the surface. He clearly inherited some comedic timing from his father, Bill Pullman. (Incidentally, Molina and the elder Pullman will be appearing in the new Netflix series The Boroughs in a matter of weeks.)
The dynamic between Field and Pullman develops into a platonic odd-couple chemistry that’s often trickier than romantic chemistry. An interesting bit of trivia: Field and Bill Pullman never appeared on screen together, but they did share the stage in a 2019 London revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. Casting Lewis here brings that connection full circle.
The supporting cast is strong, even if the screenplay doesn’t always highlight them. A romantic subplot for Cameron involving Sofia Black-D’Elia feels tacked on. Tova’s three friends, played by Joan Chen (The Wedding Banquet), Kathy Baker (Jennifer Eight), and Beth Grant (Flatliners), don’t get enough screen time. However, Baker delivers a standout late scene with Field that nearly justifies the wait. Colm Meaney (Pixie) offers a delightful performance as the local shopkeeper who quietly carries a torch for Tova.
The Craft Behind the Tank
Cinematographer Ashley Connor shoots Sowell Bay like she’s making a tourism video with emotional depth. She has previously collaborated with Newman on First Match. Her work also includes notable directors like Rian Johnson, Lena Dunham, and Nida Manzoor so she knows how to interpret a director’s vision. Composer Dickon Hinchliffe, formerly with Tindersticks, provides a score that captures the feel of soft piano and warm strings, reminiscent of Thomas Newman’s work in American Beauty; I mean this as a compliment.
The team at Untold Studios, led by VFX supervisor Chris Ritvo, makes Marcellus a believable character. He moves convincingly like a real octopus but the visual effects stay mostly in the background, allowing the emotional moments to stand out. Production designer Jennifer Morden creates Sowell Bay with care, even if the indoors seem a bit too neat for a town known for its dampness.
A Remarkably Bright Verdict
So how remarkable is it all? Yes, the third act stretches a little. Yes, the central mystery resolves with a coincidence that played better on Van Pelt’s page than on screen. But Newman, who broke through with Where the Crawdads Sing, knows what she’s doing with this kind of material. Her collaboration with co-writer John Whittington respects the audience and the cast sells the emotional turns. The whole thing has more soul than it has obligations. It’s a syrupy serving, but the cast and craftsmanship make you happy to take seconds.
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