Is it an extra cute joke that Bookworm is yet another movie where Elijah Wood goes trundling through the New Zealand countryside in search of myth and magic? Seems like a missed opportunity if not, but let’s pretend it is anyway. Certainly a cute adventure set against this backdrop, featuring bonding between two sad souls, one young and one old, searching for connection, isn’t without precedent, but where, say, Hunt for the Wilderpeople ended up on the way-too-cute, way-too-self-conscious end of the spectrum, Bookworm manages to mostly hit the sweet spot, with a little Andersonian (Wes, that is) extra icing.
Mildred (Nell Fisher) is 11 years old, way smarter than everyone around her, and generally tired of being way ahead of them. So she can be a little abrasive. But there’s still an undeniable sense of adventure inside her, one that’s been denied by her loving but slightly overbearing mom Zo (Morgana O’Reilly). Whoops, though, Zo gets electrocuted in a kitchen mishap and winds up in a coma, which means that Mildred winds up, at least temporarily, in the care of her estranged father, a semi-washed-up close-up magician calling himself Strawn Wise (Wood), someone for whom Mildred — especially and understandably — has very little patience. Nevertheless, she convinces him to take her camping into the wilderness in search of an encounter with the elusive Canterbury Panther, the first footage of which would bring a bounty of $50,000, which Zo and Mildred definitely need.
Wood playing goofball misfit is also not without precedent, and he does his thing pretty effectively here. Especially amusing is his first appearance, in which he appears to have deliberately dressed like a character in an old Jodorowsky movie. But he infuses Strawn with a good deal of wistful sadness, which is very effectively counterbalanced by Fisher’s Mildred, whose performance is basically the entire reason to watch the movie. She’s quick-witted, resourceful, angry, sad, but Fisher fills her with an essential indefatigability. This is a kid who’s learned way to early — incorrectly or not — that she’s got to be responsible for everyone, and she’s tired of it.
Director Ant Timpson also very wisely understands that there’s basically no way to make New Zealand look bad, and he makes maximum use of the scenery with a lush, greenscape frame. His compositions tend to be a bit locked off, dioramic, but he doesn’t lean so hard on that horn that the film feels airless. And then there’s the nice use of some vintage, relatively deep-cut folky needle-drops that keep the atmosphere cozy even as the film takes some perhaps too-hard turns into jeopardy and/or adventure — mileages will vary for viewers on just how dangerous one feels the film needs to get for its protagonists. But despite that streak of unevenness, Bookworm is a modest delight, with just enough alchemy of personality to overcome the speed bumps without ever threatening to become overbearingly treacly.
DIRECTOR: Ant Timpson; CAST: Elijah Wood, Nell FIsher, Michael Smiley, Morgana O’Reilly; DISTRIBUTOR: Vertical; IN THEATERS: October 18; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 43 min.
Comments are closed.