By Becca Johnson August 23, 2024
In 2019, director Ant Simpson and actor Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings) created quirky horror comedy 'Come to Daddy', centering on a character named Norval who receives a letter from his estranged father and decides to travel to see him. The duo are now back in 2024 with another estranged father story, but one that slots into the adventure and family genres rather than horror. Bookworm stars Nell Fisher (Evil Dead Rise) as eleven-year-old Mildred, whose life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and her father Strawn, played by Wood, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish teen, the pair go camping in the New Zealand wilderness, embarking on the ultimate test of family bonding - a quest to find mythological beast known as the Canterbury Painter.
Delightfully quirky and superbly acted with a charming fantastical approach, Bookworm is a fun adventure film with a lovely message behind it, even if doesn’t always achieve what it’s going for.
Review
Elijah Wood never ceases to surprise audiences with the roles he chooses to take on, and illusionist Strawn Wise is another interesting individual to portray. As usual and as expected, Elijah Wood does a great job, bringing the eccentric illusionist to life in an entertaining way. From trying to impress with illusions and magic to battling inner demons including his lack of success, he’s quite a layered character and Wood understands this. The script at play is full of dry jokes, blunt humour and unique dialogue, and Wood delivers it exceptionally well. However, the true star here is young Nell Fisher. She’s shown promise before with a captivating and scene-stealing turn in 'Evil Dead Rise', but here she gets to fully take the reins with plenty of screen time and even more charm. Fisher’s character, smart bookworm Mildred is no easy feat, as she’s given complex dialogue to match her all-too-clever and mature nature, yet Fisher delivers the lines with confidence and what seems like ease.
Wood and Fisher also work well together, forming wonderful chemistry and a likable bond as the run-time progresses. The pair don’t quite see eye to eye at first as they struggle to find something in common, but the more time they spend together, the further their bond develops, and it’s the beating heart of the film. Despite lacking screen-time due to delivering a small side performance, Michael Smiley (The Lobster) still manages to massively impress with his turn as Arnold, a questionable stranger they meet along the way. You can tell that Smiley is having a blast with his playfully evil character.
Another element that Bookworm crushes is its sense of adventure. The CGI is occasionally shoddy and the use of green screen is very apparent, but with its interesting and vibrant wilderness setting, it’s easy to immerse yourself nonetheless. The reasoning behind the adventure also helps you root for its cause - Mildred wishes to capture a video of the panther to receive a reward and help her mother with her debt. Despite being aimed at a younger audience and families, it doesn’t dumb itself down and still has strong, pivotal messages in its narrative that are both easy to grasp and incredibly important. Sure, it might be a little ham-fisted at times and easy to see where things are going from the first act, but it has so much charm and joyousness to it that again, it’s easy to forgive.
The issues come down to its quirkiness, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it makes things a tonne of fun, and offers a slightly different approach to the sort of family films we are used to seeing. Bookworm is much more ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ than it is ‘If’ and ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’, and for that, it stands out and feels refreshing. However, by attempting to be overly quirky and different, Bookworm loses much of its natural charm. Some jokes land whereas most fall completely flat, with the continual overly flamboyant dialogue becoming a little grating by the time the credits roll. The biggest culprit of this is the character of Mildred, who the film wants us to think is ‘not like other kids’ so badly that it shows us, and outright tells us in the dialogue, constantly. Its okay… we get it. The script doesn’t allow the audience to do much thinking for themselves, and by trying to create such an overtly original experience, it loses some of its authenticity.
Bookworm is an utter delight that families worldwide are bound to enjoy. With consistently vibrant and beautiful cinematography, plenty of fun quirks throughout, a unique story and excellent performances, Bookworm does well to portray an important message whilst having a great time in the process. Like any true family film, there’s some laughs in here that’ll just be for the adults, and kids will ultimately fall for its sense of adventure and smart-ass lead, Mildred. Its style and lust to stand out quite often gets the better of itself, as when it’s trying too hard to achieve its goal, it takes things too far and becomes a little ham-fisted. However, this doesn’t mean to say that Bookworm isn’t a fresh new experience.
Star Rating
Bookworm Premieres at Fightfest London 2024 August 23
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