Remarkably Bright Creatures
Sally Field is on splendid form as a gentle curmudgeon who refuses to acknowledge her advancing years, a malaise she shares with an octopus.
Still waters: Sally Field and Marcellus
Image courtesy of Netflix.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
It’s not often one comes across a film narrated by an octopus. If, however, you can buy into that, then this quirky, sweet and occasionally touching adaptation of the novel by Shelby Van Pelt might just brighten up your evening. The octopus in question, Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina), observes from his glass-sided prison: “Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.” Hence the title.
Marcellus has a knack for reading into the lives of the species that stare back at him in his small-town aquarium, in particular that of Tova, the aquarium’s cleaning lady who knows a thing or two about octopuses. She takes her work seriously and has formed something of a bond with Marcellus, who occasionally slips out of his glass penitentiary in search of extra snacks. But Tova will invariably find him before he dries out and return him to his watery bed. Even so, Marcellus is not that impressed by his captors. “The signals I perceive with one touch are beyond humans’ limited comprehension,” he tells us. “Indeed, I likely have more intelligence in a single tentacle than a human does in its entire skull.”
The humans in question reside in a close-knit seaside community in Sowell Bay, Washington state, where Tova Sullivan has become more and more reclusive, preferring the company of the sea creatures on her watch than her own friends. Then the appearance of a young man in a camper van sends small quivers through the town, inadvertently bringing disparate souls together. When the latter, Cameron (Lewis Pullman), lands a job at the aquarium and Tova contemplates moving into a nearby old people’s home, several plot points start to shift together in intriguing and unexpected ways.
It would be easy to dismiss Remarkably Bright Creatures as a piece of sentimental and contrived whimsy were it not for Sally Field. There are few enough parts for actresses beyond the age of forty, but Ms Field, at 79, makes the film her own, along with the octopus. Somehow the actress rises above the quaintness of the material to portray a woman who refuses to suffer fools gladly and who dishes out good advice as well as some apologies when needed. There’s good support, too, from Colm Meany as Ethan, the droll, charitable owner of the local grocery store, with a secret affection for Tova and a more public adoration for the Grateful Dead. All this is wryly observed by Marcellus, who can also see in Cameron’s face that he is smitten by Avery (Sofia Black-D’Elia), the proprietor of a surf and paddle shop. “Oh, the tedium of human mating rituals,” he tells us. “Even the synchronised dance of a sea horse lasts only eight hours. Oh, thank God, I can go back to watching algae grow.” Marcellus has a point, as he does when he says, “Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”
Cast: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Colm Meaney, Donald Sales, Chris William Martin, Michael Delleva, Ezra Wilson, and the voice of Alfred Molina.
Dir Olivia Newman, Pro Bryan Unkeless, Peter Craig and David Levine, Ex Pro Shelby Van Pelt, Tony Lipp, Alisa Tager and Olivia Newman, Screenplay Olivia Newman and John Whittington, from the novel by Shelby Van Pelt, Ph Ashley Connor, Pro Des Jennifer Morden, Ed Tamara Meem, Music Dickon Hinchliffe, Costumes Carla Hetland, Sound Dan Kenyon.
Anonymous Content/Night Owl Stories-Netflix.
113 mins. USA. 2026. UK and US Rel: 8 May 2026. Cert. 12.
