It was only a matter of time before “that octopus book” became “that octopus movie” (or, at least, “that other octopus movie” ). Shelby Van Pelt’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures” was a kind of slow-burn, word-of-mouth literary sensation in the years since it was first published in 2022.
With its octopus narrator, sentimental story and quirky array of small-town characters, it was tailor made for adaptation. The result, streaming Friday on Netflix, is respectable and heartfelt, a very straightforward page to screen interpretation that gets the job done and the tears flowing thanks to strong performances by Sally Field and Lewis Pullman. Their characters, Tova, a 70-year-old widow, and Cameron, a 30-something searching for his father, become unlikely friends thanks, in part to a cranky and wise octopus named Marcellus (Alfred Molina) who lives in the aquarium where Tova cleans at night. Don’t worry, the octopus doesn’t talk to them, just us.
It’s certainly a bit whimsical and stop-and-go considering how much of the story takes place outside of the aquarium, but it mostly stays on the right side of cloying never veering into treacly “The Life of Chuck” territory. And it is all building to something, though it takes a bit of time to get there.
Field’s Tova is a prickly sort. On a scale of one to Pansy in “Hard Truths,” she’s probably at a two. But she prefers to keep to herself. Her husband has died, they lost their son years ago — a mystery that haunts and torments her daily — and now she’s left wondering how the final part of her own life is going to play out, whether that’s staying in her beautiful home with all its difficult memories or moving to a retirement home.
Tova lives in a small idyllic town in the Pacific Northwest, where everyone seems to know everyone’s business. It’s mostly harmless (and sometimes even downright charming when it’s a happy-go-lucky ex-Deadhead shopkeeper played by Colm Meaney), but she was long ago hurt by the whispering types and now won’t even confide in her friends (Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, all nice to see but a little cliche and underused). Instead, she just talks to the octopus while she cleans.
When she is injured, her boss hires someone to fill in: Pullman’s Cameron, the stranger who has come to town looking for his father, who he’s never met. His mother, who also left him when he was younger, has recently died and told him that his dad is a wealthy developer in the area. He’s a struggling musician who’s having a rough time, living in a rundown camper van and chasing after something he feels he’s owed. Cameron is supposed to make everyone a little nervous, but looking like Lewis Pullman helps to make dirty, torn clothes, unwashed hair and a vagrant lifestyle seem kind of cool and intentional.
Somehow the biggest stretch in this movie with a deus ex octopus is that Tova and Cameron would actually become friends, both filling a grief gap for one another, but it’s a nice construct and Field and Pullman make it go down easier.
The film was directed by Olivia Newman, who co-wrote the screenplay with John Whittington. Newman seems to have found a bit of niche in translating modern literature to the screen — her last movie was “Where the Crawdads Sing.” “Remarkably Bright Creatures” is told better, and is a stronger movie even if it’s not wildly visually inspired. And its impact may even sneak up on you, not even for the mechanics of the big ending which is a bit of an eyeroll, but simply watching Tova and Cameron find their own emotional catharsis. Luckily, in the comfort of your home, the tissues will be nearby.
“Remarkably Bright Creatures,” a Netflix release streaming Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for “for thematic material, some strong language, suggestive references and brief drug use.” Running time: 113 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
