A story about connection, grief, aging, unlikely friendships, new beginnings, and a rather wry and persnickety octopus, Remarkably Bright Creatures originally captured hearts as a bestselling novel and now has won the affections of movie watchers. In it, Tova Sullivan (Sally Field), a recent widow and grieving mother who works as a night cleaner at an aquarium, forms a connection with a roaming octopus, Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina), and a young newcomer, Cameron (Lewis Pullman).
Maybe it was Marcellus’s cynical observations on humans and their behavior that first drew you in, or Tova’s struggle with letting anyone help her through life, or Cameron’s efforts to understand who he is; whatever you loved about the movie, you can find more of that in this list. Here are a few shows and movies like Remarkably Bright Creatures that feature heart, found family, animal friendships, intergenerational bonds, and the warm belief that maybe there really is some good in this world.
As Tova would say, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things” — and any of the watches below is a step in the right direction.
Anne with an E
Also based on a beloved book — Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery — this series stars Amybeth McNulty as the titular, imaginative redhead. Orphaned at a young age and passed around abusive families and orphanages, Anne lands in Canada’s quaint Prince Edward Island. Though aging siblings Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew (R.H. Thomson) originally sent for a boy to help out around the farm, they can’t help but be drawn in by Anne’s tenacity, warmth, and infectious goodness. Soon, she’s forming friendships, attending school, and making her mark on the entire island.
Caramelo
Another tale of the influence animals can have on people; this one focuses on a young chef and the stray mutt who embeds himself in his life just when he needs him most. Pedro (Rafael Vitti) is finally reaching success in his culinary career just as he’s given a life-changing diagnosis. At the same time, a street dog crash-lands in his life. Naming the stray Caramelo, Pedro adjusts to life with a pet — specifically a rambunctious one — who in so many unforeseeable ways will enrich his life and provide support.
Eleanor the Great
Marking Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, this dramedy of errors is a celebration of friendship and a look at the many ways to grieve. 94-year-old Eleanor (June Squibb) moves from Florida to New York to live with her daughter after her best friend and roommate, Bessie (Rita Zohar), passes away. Lonely while her daughter and grandson go about their busy lives, Eleanor attempts to join a Jewish temple choir but wanders into a holocaust survivors support group instead. The group convinces her to stay, and she shares Bessie’s survival tale with them — letting them believe that it’s her own personal story. She is befriended by a journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman), who is grieving her mother’s recent death and wants to write about Eleanor. Eleanor doesn’t want to jeopardize her new friendships, but the truth has a way of making its way out.
The Fundamentals of Caring
Paul Rudd plays Ben, an out-of-work writer avoiding facing a looming divorce from his wife and grappling with the guilt of a tragic loss. Ben takes a course on caregiving and gets a job from Elsa (Jennifer Ehle) to care for her son, Trevor (Craig Roberts), who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Trevor is sardonic and frustrated and doesn’t want to miss out on the typical teenage experience. He’s also angry that his absent father has made life harder for his mother and himself. Ben sets out with Trevor on a road trip — Trevor is obsessed with roadside attractions — with the intention of taking the boy to confront his father and have a little fun along the way. The movie is based on Jonathan Evison’s 2012 novel The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving.
Happiness for Beginners
A divorce can be a destabilizing event, leaving one lost in the woods and eager to find themselves again. For Helen (Ellie Kemper), the path to rediscovering herself post-divorce is in the literal woods. Enrolling in a hiking and survival course on the Appalachian Trail, Helen is anxious to push herself to try something new. She can’t quite escape her life, however, as her brother’s best friend, Jake (Luke Grimes), has also signed up for the course. As she bonds with the cast of characters who make up the hiking group, she can’t help but also reconnect with Jake. Helen starts to realize she may have overlooked him in the past, but she has a chance to make up for it now.
I Used to Be Famous
Vince (Ed Skrein) was once in a popular boy band and had all the fame that came with it. Twenty years later, he can’t even get a bar to let him play his music. Feeling defeated, he sets up his keyboard and plays in an outdoor market. He’s joined by Stevie (Leo Long), an autistic teen who quickly picks up Vince’s beat and drums alongside him. A crowd gathers, and a video of the performance goes viral, leading Vince to ask Stevie to join him as a duo. Stevie’s mother, Amber (Eleanor Matsuura), is reluctant, but Vince connects so well with Stevie that she agrees. Together, they start a musical adventure that will change both their lives.
Maid
While this movie’s lead relates on a surface level to Tova in Remarkably Bright Creatures — both characters have a knack for cleaning — there’s a grit and independent determination that bond them as well. Alex (Margaret Qualley) sneaks out of her home with her three-year-old daughter, Maddie (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet), in the middle of the night. She has no money and no plan, but knows she needs to escape her alcoholic husband. With $18 to her name, Alex counts every penny until she lands a job with a cleaning service. She has no choice but to lean on her chaotic mother, Paula (Andie MacDowell), for childcare while she works. Alex cleans the mansions of the wealthy while trying desperately to pull herself out of poverty and build an entirely new life.
Mixtape
Just as Cameron seeks answers about his absent father, so too does the subject of this movie embark on a quest to learn more about her deceased parents — though she does so through the music they loved. Beverly (Gemma Brooke Allen) is a middle school girl living with her grandmother, Gail (Julie Bowen), after her teen parents were killed in a car accident when she was two. It’s 1999, and Beverly finds a cassette tape containing a mix of her parents’ favorite ’80s songs. Before she can listen, however, her Walkman eats the tape. Beverly sets out to track down all the mixtape’s songs to recreate it and better understand her parents. Along the way, she makes a few new friends and gains an appreciation for both music and her own origins.
My Octopus Teacher
If you wondered while watching Remarkably Bright Creatures whether all octopuses are as intelligent as Marcellus, you may be charmed to hear they are quite advanced (though no one knows if they have such sarcastic thoughts about humans). In this Academy Award–winning documentary, filmmaker and diver Craig Foster filmed his experience getting to know an octopus off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Craig followed and interacted with her for nearly a year, and the octopus grew increasingly more comfortable with him, showing off her home, how she hunted and defended herself, and even her playful side. It’s truly a remarkable and rare look at these highly clever animals and what they have to teach humans.
Nonnas
With the warmth only a home-cooked meal can bring, this movie might make your mouth water as it plucks at your heartstrings. Joe (Vince Vaughn) misses his recently deceased mother and takes to cooking her Italian recipes to remember her. With his mother’s insurance money, he decides the best way to honor her would be to open a restaurant serving her dishes, and he enlists the help of a group of Italian nonnas. The women are headstrong and accustomed to cooking in their own unique ways, but despite the difficulties of starting a new business, Joe and the grandmothers come together to make something special.
Penguin Bloom
This sweet film is inspired by a true story. Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts) suffers from a recent injury that has left her dependent on a wheelchair for mobility. Depressed but trying to remain brave for her husband, Cameron (Andrew Lincoln), and three boys, she reluctantly agrees to help care for an injured magpie they find. The bird, named Penguin, begins to recover and forms a bond with Sam. Inspired by the bird’s ability to bounce back, Sam decides to try and get back into the things she loved to do before the accident, healing her own heart and her relationships with her family along the way.
The Starling
Melissa McCarthy stars in this story about the surprising things that help pull us out of grief. For her character, Lilly, it’s an obnoxious starling bird that has claimed her garden as its own. Lilly and her husband, Jack (Chris O’Dowd), are both recovering from the sudden death of their infant daughter. Jack is in a psychiatric facility being treated, while Lilly tries to pick up the pieces of their life at home. One of her tasks is to clean up their garden, but she’s immediately attacked by the starling. She befriends a local therapist-turned-veterinarian (Kevin Kline) who helps her with her animal problem while subtly getting her to talk through the ways she’s avoiding mourning.
Steel Magnolias
See Sally Field in one of her earlier career-defining roles as a Southern mother, M’Lynn, who leans on strong friendships in her small town while worrying over her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts), who has Type 1 diabetes. Through Shelby’s marriage and her risky pregnancy, as well as the relationship dramas each woman faces, they remain steadfast in supporting one another. Full of humor and tears, the film also stars Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, and Shirley MacLaine as the bold and sassy ladies who gather in a hair salon to gossip and get through life together.
