“Remarkably Brilliant Creatures”
Based on the bestselling 2022 novel by Shelby Van Pelt and directed by Olivia Newman (“Where the Crawdads Sing”), “Remarkably Bright Creatures” channels Nicholas Sparks by way of centenarian wildlife expert David Attenborough. If that sounds like a lot of tentacles, it should, as the film is narrated by an aging giant octopi named Marcellus. Marcellus lives in an aquarium on the Puget Sound and likes to get out and scamper about at night, which brings him into contact with Tova (Sally Field), a retiree who works the late-night janitorial shift, both to keep busy and to help settle past traumas. One affectionate tentacle touch and Marcellus can tell that there is a “hole” in Tova’s heart. Things get more complicated when Lewis Pullman’s Cameron, a broke struggling musician, takes over Tova’s shift after she twists an ankle. The Sparks-ian angle — human trauma distilled into an airy lite confection — has all three finding closure on that past and healing in the now, through interaction with each other. For the audience, there’s an unsolved mystery to add intrigue.
Marcellus, voiced by Alfred Molina, gives us all the Attenborough octopi factoids we need, and while the film is best when Marcellus is at the center (the FX and such are excellent), Field and her gaggle of aging gal pals — the “knit-wits,” a sewing club with Joan Chen, Beth Grant and Kathy Baker — charm in devilishly understated ways. It’s heartwarming for sure, but never maudlin. Field, a veteran presence, carries the film and knows when to cede the stage to her eight-armed co-star.
Watching “Creatures” sparked the desire in me to go back and watch the Academy Award-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher” (2020), which plays like “Creatures” IRL. It also has me wanting to reread Sy Montgomery’s excellent and emotionally insightful “The Soul of an Octopus,” which, like Tova, is about the author’s interaction with a polypous named Athena at our beloved New England Aquarium. — Tom Meek
Streaming on Netflix
“Obsession”
YouTube horror prankster Curry Barker jumps to the big screen with this debut chiller that became something of a cult staple on the festival circuit last year. In construct, it’s “Fatal Attraction” for the new generation, with flourishes of the occult and more as it dials in on a shy, love-struck millennial with the sheepish name of Bear (Michael Johnston) who can’t muster the nerve to ask winsome co-worker and bar trivia teammate Nikki (Inde Navarrette) out on a date. During one such forlorn evening he stumbles into a tchotchke shop and on a whim, buys a One Wish Willow. A snap of the osier and all Bear’s Nikki dreams come true — and quickly become an endless waking nightmare.
The “be careful what you wish for” effects are a page right out of a Stephen King novel; Nikki is suddenly so into Bear she won’t leave his side. Being in the bathroom too long becomes a matter of door banging, and God forbid another woman sends him a text or looks at him a little too long at a bar. That’s when the jealousy horns come out — and strange gump happens.
Barker, whose YouTube fare is dark and predictable, actually uses his bigger budget to dial up some great eerie moodiness. He also proves surgically adept with his grinding use of aural immersion to drive the mounting tension. His best is an early scene where Nikki, a ghostly silhouette leaning against a wall watching Bear sleep, just lingers there in an ephemeral haze. It’s simple, unshakeable and downright creepy. But as Nikki’s obsession grows and things turn increasingly disturbing and bloody (trigger warning for cat lovers), the plot becomes labored and beholden to form, not character.
Key to the film is Navarrette’s turn-on-a-dime performance, which dazzles as much as it disturbs. No her, no movie. She brings to the part the doe-eyed, girl-next-door presence of Neve Campbell infused with the rage gene Willa Fitzgerald conjured up in “Strange Darling” (2024). It’s an incredible performance in a promising concept that doesn’t quite deliver, but it does manage to get under your skin — just enough. — Tom Meek
Playing at Kendall Square Cinema and AMC Assembly Row 12
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
