A new Netflix drama hailed as “excellent” and “touching” has shot up the streaming giant’s charts following its release. Remarkably Bright Creatures, starring Sally Field, is currently the third-watched movie on Netflix UK, and fourth worldwide.
The film, based on the 2022 novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt, tells the story of elderly cleaning lady Tova Sullivan (Field), who takes in young drifter Cameron (Lewis Pullman) after he becomes stranded in her village with a van needing costly repairs.
An unlikely friendship begins between the pair when Tova injures herself and needs Cameron to take care of her duties, all observed by a Giant Pacific octopus in the aquarium where Tova works.
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The cast also includes the likes of Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, and Colm Meaney, with Alfred Molina providing the voice of Marcellus the octopus.
It was released on Netflix on 8 May and has proved a hit with critics and fans alike, holding an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Digital Spy‘s review hailed Remarkably Bright Creatures a “must see”, adding: “The movie delivers a humbling lesson that is sure to comfort audiences: sometimes the people who save us arrive in the most unexpected ways, making Remarkably Bright Creatures a deeply soothing, yet quietly devastating, watch.”
Time Magazine wrote: “Remarkably Bright Creatures is a movie, like its cephalopod supporting star, with a gentle soul and an elusive spirit. It might not stick with you long, but it leaves a delicate print behind.”
Screen Rant said the film was “excellent” and “touching”, while The Hollywood Reporter mused, “It’s as cozy as an old woolen blanket, as sweet as a mug of hot chocolate and, ultimately, as moving as the sight of a sky turning purple over an endless horizon.”
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IndieWire praised how the adaptation tackled its source material, writing: “There’s something increasingly rare (yes, even more rare than Alfred Molina voicing a huge sea creature): a book-to-film adaptation that actually adapts the material, and does not just crib blindly from the original.”
Meanwhile, The Travers Take said: “Sally Field mothers a talking octopus in a shameless tearjerker that doesn’t shy away from eye-rolling cliches but may just be the empathy booster we all need right now.”
Remarkably Bright Creatures is streaming now on Netflix.
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