'Remarkably Bright Creatures' delivers heartwarming tale

I don't expect much from Netflix movies anymore. After bitter experience I have come to the realization that, for the most part, the streaming giant is more focused on quantity than quality when it comes to movies. "Remarkably Bright Creatures" bucks this trend. Tova Sullivan (Sally Field) is a lonely, widowed, nighttime cleaning lady at the Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington State. She spends her nights cleaning every inch of the small but beloved aquarium with a level of care that borders on the obsessive. She imagines that she's friends with the aquarium's inhabitants, especially the giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina). Tova has a few friends, but she mostly keeps to herself even when she's spending time with her friends. Tova's son died in a boating accident decades before and she is still struggling with her loss. Instead of living life, she mostly retreated into her own private world. She spends more time talking to Marcellus than anyone else, though she doesn't realize that he's also talking to her. Meanwhile, 30-year-old Cameron Cassmore (Lewis Pullman) arrives in town in a beat-up van that promptly quits on him. He's looking for his birth father, who he claims owes him a lot of money. The van repairs cost more money than he has, so he takes a temporary job filling in for Tova while she recovers from a twisted ankle. Tova and Cameron get off to a rough start, but they soon become friends. They learn a lot from each other.&emsp;&emsp;Marcellus, meanwhile, realizes that they are both troubled. He sees the same sadness in both their eyes. Marcellus believes he can help both Tova and Cameron. Part of his master plan involves repeated escapes from his tank at the aquarium. Tova and Cameron develop a bond, but it may not be strong enough to survive the shocking revelations as the story unfolds. "Remarkably Bright Creatures" is sneaky good. At first, it just seemed like a cute little story about a private but mostly sweet older woman and a young man who is in desperate need of guidance. The story serenely weaves and winds its way through their lives and Sowell Bay. And then, bam! The emotionality of the film sneaks right up and cracks you in the skull. The narrative pulled me in without me even realizing it. The story, in its most basic form, is about two broken people. Both are stained by their past, letting it control their present and future. One can't understand why her son died and the other can't understand why his father, now a wealthy real estate developer, abandoned him and his mom. They connect over their shared suffering. The miracle of the story is that they turn their suffering upside down. I've never been a big fan of Sally Field. I could take her or leave her. But she does well in this film. The role suits her strengths as a very emotional yet meek person who can turn on you in an instant. Her performance as the elderly woman who has never properly dealt with the loss of her son is moving. It's her best performance in many years. The most underrated performance in the movie is that of Marcellus. Alfred Molina's voice is just the right timber for the role and, as weird as it sounds, Marcellus is pretty funny. He loves to make observations about humans that he thinks are clever. Like how humans incessantly jabber or that a hallmark of our species is abysmal communication skills. He's not wrong, but it's funny coming from the mind of an octopus. "Remarkable Bright Creatures" is not really in my wheelhouse. It's heartwarming, which I usually find overly sweet and schmaltzy. I'm not too proud to say that something about this movie got to me. Maybe it will get to you too. Grade: A-Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, suggestive references and brief drug use. ••• Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff.