Nate At The Movies

Since I read Remarkably Bright Creatures back in March, you, loyal reader, may think that this was one of my many Adaptation Appreciation reads, but you’d be mistaken! It was actually one of my “in-between” reads—because I’ve become a reading fiend in 2026—and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t blown away in the way that other people had been. I still wanted to check out the movie, though, and I think it was worthwhile, because the film exceeded the book in some places, while the book exceeded the film in others.

It makes the most sense to me to split my review into the places where the book won first and the places where the movie won second, and where the book excelled was the mystery. The movie seemed much more intent on giving out little clues to the relationship at the heart of the story, while the book was more patient and more careful. Maybe I was also comprehending less, who knows? The authorial voice of Marcellus also felt more effective in the book, but Alfred Molina did a great job in his second career octopus role. There was also what I thought was solid exposition in the book that was inexplicably absent from the film. Why didn’t we get any of Cameron’s pre-Sowell Bay story? It’s likely because of the beats they added to the middle of the movie, but I preferred the book’s exposition to those.

Because of the great, in-touch central performances from Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, the emotional resonance of the movie outshined the book for me. The end reveal was better in the book, yes, but the emotion it pulled out of me in the movie was greater. I did happen to be putting in eye drops at the time, so one could have thought those were tears, but my emotional reaction was separate and pure. There were also a number of really pretty water and marine life shots, and Marcellus was a treat to watch and listen to. I don’t know if any of Marcellus was CGI, or to what extent CGI was used, but he looked great. I hope they paid that octopus.

Neither iteration of Remarkably Bright Creatures really wowed me, but both were solid, funny and emotional, and definitely something my mom would love. Both mediums had their merits as well—your typical advantages, though, the movie being more visually stimulating and the book being more narratively and emotionally detailed—and as far as adaptations go, it was pretty accurate and could’ve gone a hell of a lot worse. Netflix is known for fumbling the bag (see The Electric State, which I’m still mad about), so the fact that Remarkably Bright Creatures came out relatively unscathed is something of a minor miracle. This movie could totally grow on me on a rewatch, given its charm and fun family mystery, but I’m not sure when said rewatch would be.