Odd couple stories are the bread-and-butter of comedy. Putting mismatched people in situations (regular or irregular) is a breeding ground for hilarity as the two’s friction slowly grinds until it flares up. Add in estranged parentage with a little bit of maternal trauma and you’ve got yourself the foundation for an odd couple tale with the right chemistry for maximum detonation. Having its U.S. premiere during Fantastic Fest 2024 is the new Ant Timpson (Come to Daddy) film, Bookworm, co-created by Timpson and Toby Harvard (Come to Daddy) and written by Harvard. It utilizes the aforementioned familial odd couple situation as the baseline for a family adventure set in New Zealand starring Elijah Wood (Come to Daddy; The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Nell Fisher (Evil Dead Rise). Though Bookworm is, at times, an “as-expected” road trip dramedy, it’s where it shakes off the rote, well-worn path that it makes a powerful impression.
When her mother has an accident which lands her in a coma, 11-year-old Mildred (Fisher) is placed under the care of her estranged father Strawn (Wood). Though the two have nothing in common and have shared not a moment together in Mildred’s life, Strawn agrees to join her on a previously planned camping trip in order to capture proof of a feline lurking in the New Zealand forest: the mythical Canterbury panther. Adventure awaits the book smart Mildred and the nebbish Strawn and it just may be the thing that heals them in unexpected ways.
The expected plays about as well as one would imagine. Mildred is the anthesis to her “biological father,” as she refers to him. She’s well-learned, factual, brazen, and determined. These are all excellent traits, even if it comes at the cost of the absence of whimsy, imagination, and wonder. This is where Strawn steps in: he’s an illusionist (not a magician — there’s a difference) who uses his talent for misdirection, audience psychology, storytelling, and prediction to entertain, yet he lacks proper conviction and fortitude. Placed together, these two function nearly as well as oil and water, creating the kinds of circumstances that make up traditional odd couple tales. Add in the fact that this is their first time meeting (Mildred is the result of a one-night stand in Las Vegas) and there’s additional discomfort as the two engage each other: one intent on nabbing proof of the panther in order to win a financial prize that could help her mother and the other who wants to do the right thing by his daughter. Because of this, much of the setup of Bookworm and the progress in the forest involves the kinds of power-testing, interpersonal conflicts that any audience can predict as soon as the premise is laid out from one scene to another.
L-R: Elijah Woods as Strawn and Nell Fisher as Mildred in BOOKWORM. Photo courtesy of Fantastic Fest.
However, what helps the film break free into unknown territory is the presentation of Strawn via the script and Wood’s performance to go along with it. In many cases, an estranged parent-type in this kind of story would have their own specific need that dovetails with that of their charge, creating an internal conflict as they must decide whether its their needs or the other’s that gets met. This narrative choice adds additional drama and tension to the character interactions as the parent figures out how to manage to clear their own needs against the newly-developed relationship that’s formed. Harvard wonderfully skips this element entirely, placing all the tension not on whether or not Strawn has ulterior motives, but on whether or not he can stand up for something for once in his life. This is the arc instilled with the character and the lack of deviation enables Wood to make the most of it via his natural charm and a specific pusillanimousness Strawn requires without diminishing who the character is. Put another way, Wood enables the audience to believe in Strawn’s abilities as an illusionist — all the talent, the preparedness, the anticipation, the patience — while also understanding that these traits don’t make him ready for parenthood or a panther hunt in the wilderness. This enables the script to trod that well-worn path while making new etchings within it, ones where family audiences get to see a character who doesn’t hide from or talk down to a child, but treats them with respect as a person. By building rapport from there, one starts to believe in the twosome as they traverse areas charted and yet unknown to them. By extension, children get to see an example of a child leading the way (comedically, yet with consequences), while adults get to see what parenting looks like when we don’t step up (handled in a similar manner). This may enable families to have conversations upon the conclusion regarding mutual respect and growth, as well as forgiveness and hesitancy on the part of parents who struggle with acknowledging that their kids are people with desires and dreams, not replicants or playthings.
With all the push-pull of the Mildred/Strawn relationship, one might expect a dourness to hover over the film. Just the opposite, actually, as Daniel Katz’s (Come to Daddy; The Beast Within) cinematography helps maintain a storybook adventure-type of visual style. At first, the film opens in a 4:3 ratio in Mildred’s room, itself decorated like an entomologist’s dream with specimens adorning the walls alongside maps and various plants to create the sensation of a forest. In this space, the world is confined, controlled, and imaginative — a perfect breeding ground for childlike determination and aspiration. Later, when the ratio shifts to 1.85:1, the timing of it helps to evoke the vastness of the undertaking the two are about to engage in, widening the world from Mildred’s room and the space of the hospital that her mother is resting in to a place without walls or rules or a metaphorical net to be caught in. Couple this with the chapter titles used to bookmark the start and end of sections of the film and Bookworm radiates an enthusiastic adventurous energy.
Should you, dear reader, decide to pack your camping gear and take your family on a journey in the world of Bookworm, be advised that this is not for the faint of heart. There are proper perils in the forest comprised of man and beast awaiting daughter and illusionist; things that push beyond what one may expect from a family film. With this in mind, tread carefully, for just as Artax reminds us that life is precious, so can a mythical panther or an average person. All it takes is a little too much trust in a fellow wanderer or rope along a cliff’s edge to remind us that adventures in a book can be put down, but those in life cannot be. If that sounds a little too anxiety-inducing, best give Bookworm a a solo-watch into the theaters with the littles. But if you’re strong of heart and spirit, you may find just the adventure you’re looking for.
Screening during Fantastic Fest 2024.
In U.S. theaters October 18th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Fantastic Fest 2024 Bookworm webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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