Film / Remarkably Bright Creatures

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Remarkably Bright Creatures is a 2026 Drama film by Olivia Newman (known for the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing) adapting a 2022 novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt. Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina), a lonely, cunning, dying aquarium octopus, feels kinship with soon-to-retire cleaner Tova (Sally Field) and her upcoming replacement Cameron (Lewis Pullman), a Gene Hunting failed musician, each of whom have emptiness in their lives that match his and that he feels they can fix as he listens to their stories.

The supporting cast includes Colm Meaney, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Joan Chen, Beth Grant, and Kathy Baker.

Tropes in the movie:

• Absurdly Youthful Mother: As it turns out, Avery is this. She is in her early 30s and has a son that has hit puberty. This freaks out Cameron, as it reminds him of his mother (who also had him when she was young) and he abruptly leaves even when she pleads with him to stay. They reconcile by the end.
• Actor Allusion: The octopus is narratively voiced by Alfred Molina, who previously played the role of an octopus-themed villain from a 2004 film.
• Bait-and-Switch: It looks as if Marcellus is about to risk his life diving into the eel tank and fighting the eels (who he has an old grudge against) to retrieve the important ring Cameron threw away...but instead he just distracts the eels with food so he can get the ring.
• The Beard: Simon, Cameron's mother's boyfriend, is gay, and she dated him so his homophobic father wouldn't hurt him.
• Career Versus Family: Downplayed with Cameron's married bandmates for their band Moth Sausage. Having a baby is the last straw that makes them quit their band of so many years, but they also indicate that, unlike him, they always saw it as more of a hobby than a genuine profession. They also single him out because he missed half of their rehearsals.
• Casting Gag: Alfred Molina who has previously portrayed Dr. Octopus voices an actual octopus here.
• Cerebral Cephalopod: Marcellus, who's also the narrator of the story. To Marcellus, humans are less intelligent and quite primitive, but while he's initially condescending of them, he is highly observant and receptive to the custodian Tova, with whom he forms a friendship after she shows him compassion. Aware that he's dying from old age, Marcellus ventures out of his tank several times to investigate the source of Tova's loneliness as his final act of goodwill.
• Character Development:
  • Cameron starts out as The Slacker who half asses everything he does, including his band, which gets disbanded partially because of him not making it to rehearsals. Over time, Tova convinces him to do his job at the aquarium properly and pushes him to be more committed and brave. He also originally comes to Sowell Bay to get money from his birth father, but ultimately finds meaning and connection with various people in the town.
  • Tova starts the story disconnected from everyone and in a depression over the deaths of her husband and son. She doesn't even open her son's old room. She is eventually called out for it. By the end, she learns the truth about her son's death and stops blaming herself, instead embracing her remaining years with her grandson.
• Character Narrator: Marcellus is the narrator and a major character in the story, whose mission is to pay back Tova for saving his life by keeping her in her home. He voices his insights at various points in the story about human behavior and sometimes goes on asides to his life out at sea and in the aquarium.
• Clueless Mystery: The riddle of the "Eels" ring can technically be solved by process of elimination and inference, but Erik's full name and explicit initials are not known to the audience until Tova explains it to Cameron.
• Condescending Compassion: Downplayed, as Marcellus cannot actually communicate with humans. While Marcellus is fascinated by and fond of Tova and Cameron, he also views them as very strange creatures who lack his great intelligence to solve issues. It's why he takes it upon himself to help them, along with I Owe You My Life.
• Cool Old Guy: Ethan, the owner of the Shop-Way grocery store. He helps Cameron when his car breaks down and let's the young man stay at his place (offering the couch, though Cameron chooses to live in the van while on his property. Ethan also plays guitar with and recommends him for the aquarium job. Ethan is well liked in the community, and when he expresses interest in Tova, the entire Knit-Wit group is excited and supportive.
• Deuteragonist: Tova is the Protagonist, whose grief makes up the main plotline. Cameron is the Deuteragonist, as he has his own plotline searching for his father that ties in with Tova's at various points. Marcellus takes an unusual Tritagonist role, where he acts as the Character Narrator who wants to help them both but cannot speak to them, while he is also ruminating about his past life in the ocean and his remaining lifespan.
• Foreshadowing:
  • When Tova and Cameron go to the address where Simon Brinks was listed, the man insinuates Cameron is gay. Which makes sense when it is revealed Simon was gay and thus the person living there, possibly his father or another relative, would assume Cameron to be his lover.
  • Tova reprimands Cameron for not learning from his mother, which he said he never had. After that, she begins to take a motherly role to him. Additionally, Cameron enjoys the music from Erik's old cassettes, and the two even look alike in face and hairstyle from Tova's flashbacks to a teenaged Erik. As it turns out, Erik is Cameron's father which means Tova is his grandmother.
• Gene Hunting: Cameron came to the town his father who he never met came from after finding letters to his dead mother and seeks closure and back child support. While his supposed father is not actually his father, he does find out that Tova, the kind old woman he had been bonding with, is actually his grandmother.
• Get Out!:
  • Both Cameron and Tova are forced under threat of violence to leave where they thought Simon Brink was staying.
  • Tova tells Cameron this when he was fixing up the house and was caught in Erik's room, which Tova has not entered in years.
• Gossipy Hens: Tova's knitting group cares more about swapping secrets than anything else. She expresses disapproval but does enjoy repeating what she heard to the animals whose tanks she is cleaning.
• I Die Free: Marcellus feels constrained in the aquarium and, while he knows he is dying no matter what, repeatedly tries to escape from his tank to make it into the ocean to recapture the joy of his lost youth. He succeeds by the end after being released by Tova, dying in his old cave he was living in before he was captured.
• I Owe You My Life: Marcellus's motivation to help Tova is because the woman saved him while he was tangled up in some wires as he escaped from his tank. Without her, he would have died. Specifically he wants to stop her from moving out of her home to a senior living facility, as he considers it similar to him being "saved" from the sea into the constraining aquarium.
• Insufferable Genius: Marcellus' narration makes it clear he has a very high opinion of his intelligence over humans (while still finding them amusing), and when he was caught was a "moment of weakness" in chasing after the crab. Unlike most versions of this trope, there's no one that can understand him in the story to find him insufferable, just the viewer.
• Internal Reveal:
  • The Knitwits find out that Tova had decided to sell her house when the group are recognized at lunch by a couple who said they went to see her home. This was, something she wanted to hide from them because of all the gossip she had gotten over her son's death. The group becomes very upset that she was moving without telling them.
  • The very end of the film has Tova figure out that the "Eels" ring is Erik's, and that he is Cameron's father. This was confirmed by the sight of Daphne Cassmore, who viewers will recognize as Cameron's mother, and Simon denying being the father because Daphne was The Beard.
• Kooky Cascadia: The story takes place in the fictional city of Sowell Bay, Washington. Between the constantly gloomy weather and strong indie music scene in the town, there's also the unusually intelligent octopus that resides in its aquarium.
• Manchild: Cameron starts off this way. Despite being in his late 20s or early 30s, he acts like an immature teenager. He has to spend time with Tova to take himself and everything seriously. Justified by him being bounced around between relatives and foster homes and not having the chance to actually develop as an adult, so he's stuck in a state of arrested development.
  Lewis Pullman: There was a lot that drew me to Cameron. He's kinda figuring certain things out that most people figure out when they're teenagers.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Marcellus's intelligence is unusual in the framing of the story and all the inferences he can draw (as well as understanding the human language), but all his actions could be explained as normal octopus behavior, especially an octopus near the end of its life (as Terry explains). The film implies that octopuses really are that smart, but humans just don't know it yet.
• Mr. Exposition: Terry, Tova's boss at the aquarium, spends much of his screentime explaining octopus behavior or telling Tova key information about Cameron.
• No Antagonist: The film has no villain, as its entirely about dealing with grief (for Tova) and finding yourself (for Cameron). Even a character that seems like they could be a villain, Simon Brinks, is actually a Nice Guy and not actually Cameron's father on account of being gay.
• Not What It Looks Like: Janice comes in to find Tova getting dressed at the same time as Cameron while he's laying on the couch, giving this impression briefly, which Janice uses to tease her later. Cameron had spent the night after performing at open mic night, drinking and Tova telling him about her son's death. She woke up him hastily to get dressed because they have overslept for their event.
• Ordered Apology: Tova and Cameron drive to an address that belonged to Cameron's birth father so Cameron can make amends. Cameron discovers that a different man lives there and complies with his order to leave. Tova, mistaking the new homeowner for Cameron's birth father, beats on his door and demands that he apologize. Defied when the new homeowner brandishes a gun and chases Tova and Cameron off his property with it.
• Parting-Words Regret: The last time Tova saw her son, they argued about him keeping secrets about his dating life and he stormed out. She is terrified that may have made him kill himself.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Mary Ann gives one to Tova near the end of the film, saying that she had shut out everyone after the death of her husband and son, that her fear of being a burden has made her a bad friend since she has stopped truly talking to her knitting club including hiding that she'll be selling her house and moving across the bay. Tova concedes the point and reconciles with her friends at the end, deciding not to sell her home after all.
• The Reveal: A few.
  • Erik, Tova's son, died while sailing, possibly from suicide, after an argument with her. Tova blames herself and thinks she caused it and this is why she can't even go to his old room.
  • Simon is not Cameron's father because he is gay and Cameron's mother was The Beard for him
  • The "Eels" ring was Erik's (representing his initials) which makes Tova Cameron's grandmother.
• Shipper on Deck: Tova accidentally calls Avery while Cameron is driving. She takes the opportunity to ask her out on Cameron’s behalf. On another note Tova’s knitting group point out that Ethan is taking her out on a date and want her to get spruced up more.
• Silver Fox: Tova is considered attractive in-universe, despite being in her 70s, which is why she draws the attention of Ethan. It helps that Sally Field has aged very well.
• Scenery Porn: The film shows a lot of the beauty of the Pacific Northwest (though filmed in Deep Cove, Vancouver, Canada) and much of the screentime is spent looking at extremely beautiful aquarium tanks and the real ocean floor.
• Someone to Remember Him By: Cameron's father died while his mom was pregnant, something his paternal grandmother, Tova, never knows until 30 years later, at the end of the film.
• Troll: Ethan briefly pretends to have heard of Cameron's band "Moth Sausage", before admitting he was just pretending. He's otherwise a Cool Old Guy, so it was just for a little levity when meeting the younger man.
• Unwanted Rescue: Marcellus acknowledges he would have died from eel bites if he hadn't been taken from the ocean by the aquarium staff but doesn't think it was worth it.
• Wham Shot: The yearbook shot reveals that Daphne Cassmore is none other than Cameron's late mother.