You made it this far, so you are already a remarkably bright creature. Congratulations on that achievement. And kudos to the casting director, producer, director, Netflix,and anyone who allowed one of the greatest living actresses to have a film even half with her time. I’m exhausted by the geriatric specials we keep getting where someone picks a bunch of actors past their prime and tosses them into a film. I thought Kathy Bates might never have another decent role again after watching Summer Camp, but she landed Matlock. Sally Field had to endure 80 For Brady, which our Norma Rae, our two time Oscar winner should never have had to endure. Imagine these young actresses you worship so much right now, having to star in a remake of Book Club when they get older. Enough is enough. Write them projects. They’ve earned it.

Sally Field makes her triumphant return to films and roles that matter as Tovah, a grieving septuagenarian who in her tiny frame is also the janitor for an aquarium. Her son passed was he was young, and her husband has been gone for a few yers, so she’s all alone and the retirement homes are calling.She would much rather hang out with her buddy Marcellus (Alfred Molina), who is also at the aquarium. He doesn’t work there though. he lives there. He’s an octopus. He’s also the narrator of the story.

Tovah takes pride in her work, and she has a little group of widows she hangs out with (Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, and Beth Grant) who are all in each others business. Everything starts to change when a down on his luck musician, Cameron, (Lewis Pullman) blazes in looking for long lost familial ties. He didn’t grow up with a traditional household, and he is trying to find the man he thinks is his grandfather. But, he’s also broke, and so is his van, and he needs a part time job. Perfect timing for Tovah to injure herself so they can hire him as a temp janitor, and she can nag him about how he’s not doing a good enough cleaning, especially Marcellus’s tank, as he loves to escape.

As you might expect for a movie based on a best-selling novel, debuting around Mother’s Day, these unlikely friends seem to be the missing puzzle pieces in each others lives. Tovah has lived in quiet shame over rumors that her son’s death was not an accident, and she never got the opportunity to see him grow up. Perhaps Cameron, who lacked concerned parents, can be her fixer upper? Perhaps Cameron is exactly the motivation she needs to keep her out of an assisted living facility.

Also along for the ride is a shop keeper (Colm Meaney), who takes a shine to Tovah, and also helps Cameron on his path. The film is intentionally paced slow, allowing the film to spread its storylines out over the course of the film, and as a byproduct, make sure the ending is well earned. For people needing shorter and shorter films, I’ll admit this could try your patience, but at the same time, what would I change? not much, since the film relies heavily on a slow build of these characters and the story to earn its payoff, it would just be little trims here and there, but I appreciate that the film is crafting this story. I’m sure the book had more time. Certain things need to happen in order for the film to make sense and land its emotional weight. Not everything is a 90 minute story.

I even learned some things. First, I just found out Lewis Pullman is a legacy talent, being the son of actor Bill Pullman. Secondly, since Marcellus is near the end of his life, we’ll call him fully grown. Apparently, a fully grown octopus can weigh 170 pounds. Considering Sally Field has no problem lifting him, she must be hitting the gym on the regular. In all seriousness, this role is perfect for Field, who affirms her character with a motherly warmth, whether it is reminiscing about what was, taking care of Marcellus, or teaching her new protege how to take pride in his work. For his part, Pullman has so far defied being put into a box, as this roguish musician is casually joked about being a gang member by one of Tovah’s friends, seems to have some pent up anger about his lot in life, yet sings this beautiful acoustic coffee house style music that seems to be contrary to what we know. As an actor, Pullman has jumped from being an uptight scientist in Lessons In Chemistry, to the mysterious and unassuming Bob in Thunderbolts. He does not have a type yet, much like his father, who could also play anything.

Olivia Newman directs this far better than her last effort, Where the Crawdads Sing, a misguided adaptation that lost much of the culture of the book before the screenplay. Here, she approaches this a bit more like a tearjerker Nicholas Sparks adaptation, knowing that if she establishes the characters well enough, the payoff at the end will have far more resonance.

Netflix has skipped a theatrical option for this, making it eligible for Emmy consideration, and I think it has positioned itself quite nicely for at least the Best TV Movie category,Heck, the visual effects for the Octopus might even earn it some technical nomination or prize. I know they hope Field can break into the acting race, but the Limited Series casts are too strong.

The audio description here is International Digital Center, written by Steven Christopher, and narrated by Amanda Brutan. The track is well done, capitalizing on Marcellus’s underwater freedom flashbacks, as well as this lingering presence from Tovah’s backstory, and how that continues to wind around the current story. We let Diane Keaton pass while making some of the worst films of her career. these legends, like Sally Field, deserve their own Matlock’s or Remarkably Bright Creatures to continue to give them places to actually act. No mor Summer Camps, Fabulous Four’s, or Book Clubs. Field has two Oscars. She deserves to be cast as such, something which seems to also elude two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, who Taylor Sheridan couldn’t figure out why he cast her in Mayor Of Kings Town.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is an emotional drama packing a punch just in time for Mother’s Day. A film for all the Mother’s out there who have it in them to be emotionally gutted on their day, and pieced back together.

Fresh: 7.3/10