What a wonderful surprise and completely out of the blue! I was not aware of the best-selling novel that inspired this movie and it caught me completely by surprise, as a random suggestion by Netflix algorithm. I recognised Sally Field in a trailer and decided to give it a go, why not since Field was always lovely and dependable actress, even though Hollywood ageism means she was not given much opportunities recently. In fact, the last movie I saw her in was some silly comedy where she played frumpy office worker, infatuated with a new co-worker ("Hello, My Name Is Doris") and that was a decade ago. Guess what, this time she plays a frumpy, elderly widow who mops the floors of the local small town aquarium place. Poor Sally, she just can't get a break. Than again, it is refreshing to see someone playing their age and not going plastic surgery route.
As the movie started, me and my friend looked at each other - this feels good - in fact, he mentioned something like "this is like Christmas movie" - and that is exactly how it felt like. The story is set in a small town where Sally Field mops the floors of the local aquarium and in her solitude talks to a giant octopus, who actually listens to her (we hear his inner monologue and he is a very witty octopus, elderly just like her and perhaps at the end of his days). When a new person arrives in town, he ends up working along Sally Field and octopus notices they both have same pain in their eyes. This is enough to spur octopus in the action and he does some movie magic to connect these two, but along the way we are also introduced to other characters in this sleepy little town. Everything is super peaceful and comforting here, not to mention Sally Field's house that just looks like something out of the dream with a most beautiful view on a lake - honestly, it makes you want to move in there, right here and right now.
What was so unexpected and lovely was the fact that this movie totally ignored everything current directors and producers force down our throats: there were no explosions, big fires, special effects, aliens, zombies, car crashes, eye pokings and violence of any kind. It was simply an good old fashioned family movie, a kind that we almost forgot, something everybody can watch together. It was a heart warming story about real people (and their octopus friend) that could perhaps in some other hands became maudlin but thanks to subtle direction and excellent Sally Field never crossed the line into too sentimental. In a way, it was lucky that I was watching this at home because if I was in cinema, I would probably crying my eyes out. Beautiful movie!
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