Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)
Directed by: Olivia Newman
Premise: Based on the novel by Shelby Van Pelt. An octopus (voice of Alfred Molina) in a public aquarium witnesses a friendship develop between an elder widow (Sally Field) and a young musician (Lewis Pullman).
What Works: Remarkably Bright Creatures is a very likable film. It’s not maudlin but there is a humanitarian spirit to it that is very affable. Much of that has to do with the film’s relationships. The story centers upon a burgeoning friendship between an older woman who is the night shift cleaner at the community aquarium and the younger man who is hired to take her place. As in many of these kinds of stories, the two of them begin antagonistically but gradually form a friendship. He’s immature and unfocused while she is isolated and intransigent. Their friendship cures each other’s flaws. The film works as well as it does in large part due to Sally Field and Lewis Pullman’s performances. Each of them suits their characters and Field and Pullman fight and bond credibly. Remarkably Bright Creatures is dense with subplots. Field and Pullman’s characters each have a romantic interest and the older woman has a complicated relationship with her friends while the younger man searches for his biological father. The filmmakers balance the stories well. The narrative plates keep spinning and the filmmakers cut between the subplots effectively. This is also a beautiful looking film, especially the imagery of underwater life.
What Doesn’t: The storytelling of Remarkably Bright Creatures is sometimes forced and ridiculous. The story is sort of told though the point of view of an octopus that lives in the aquarium. The octopus is anthropomorphized to an absurd degree. The cephalopod narrates part of the story and the voiceover includes glib narration provided by Alfred Molina but it makes everything too literal. The film might have been stronger without the narration, allowing the octopus to be more mysterious. The octopus is partly a character but mostly a framing device that doesn’t work. He disappears from the narrative for long stretches and the octopus is so removed from the lives of these people that he doesn’t take an active or critical role in the story. There is a major reveal late in the film. It’s supposed to be a big surprise but it’s obvious what’s coming. The reveal is stupid. It’s such a huge coincidence that it sabotages the credibility of the whole film.
Disc extras: Available on Netflix.
Bottom Line: Remarkably Bright Creatures has a lot in it that is likable but the filmmakers don’t trust the material or the performances and sabotage the movie with plot contrivances and storytelling devices. There’s a very good movie here that is saddled with unnecessary overwriting.
Episode: #1117 (September 20, 2026)