Given the robust pipeline of books being adapted into television series and streaming movies, TVLine is offering a handy guide to a sampling of these novel-to-screen projects. First up: Netflix’s film of Shelby Van Pelt’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” is a story with legs. Eight of ’em.
Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel was a New York Times bestseller that has sold more than 4 million copies and became the basis for a recently released Netflix movie starring Sally Field (“Brothers & Sisters”), Alfred Molina (“The Boroughs”), and Lewis Pullman (“Outer Range”). Now sit back, stretch out your tentacles, and relax as we walk you through the basics.
WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT?
Van Pelt’s work alternates among three perspectives: that of Tova Sullivan, the woman in her 70s who works the late shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium; Marcellus, an octopus whom Tova befriends; and Cameron, a young man who starts working at the facility about halfway through the story.
Marcellus and Tova’s connection is obvious; they become fast friends at the aquarium despite being unable to communicate through words. Cameron’s relation to the group is less firm, but Marcellus immediately notices a connection between him and Tova. It doesn’t take long for the octopus to realize that Cameron is Tova’s grandson. This is a major revelation, considering Tova lost her son, Erik, when he vanished in Puget Sound at just 18 years old, and she has no idea that he fathered a child before he went missing.
Marcellus makes many attempts to show Tova her connection to Cameron, including stealing Cameron’s driver’s license and leaving it for Tova to see, in hopes that she’ll notice he shares a last name with Erik’s former girlfriend. It isn’t until Marcellus risks his life by leaving his tank to retrieve an old class ring that Cameron flung off his hand in frustration that Tova finally receives the proof she needs: The piece of jewelry is from Erik. She understands what Marcellus is trying to tell her, and she finally pieces it all together.
The octopus doesn’t just give Tova a new beginning in the form of her grandson, Cameron, he also helps her get closure in her son’s disappearance. She gets confirmation that Erik died from a tragic boating accident, not a suicide as Tova had so long feared. The book ends with Tova releasing an ailing Marcellus into the sea so that he may spend his final days at peace in his natural habitat.