As vast and welcoming as its picturesque New Zealand landscapes, a joyful sense of adventure shines through in the “Bookworm”, a delightfully offbeat father-daughter adventure with the perfect blend of childlike wonder and adult bite. It's a charming escapade reminiscent of Taika Waititi's “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” – in that “Bookworm” is for anyone who takes their family road movies with a sense of maturity, jaw-dropping stakes and a funny sense of humor. Think “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” and “Up,” with a little “Indiana Jones” mixed in, and you’ll be in the right ballpark.
At the heart of the story is 11-year-old Mildred (the wonderful escape Nell Fisher), a precocious teenager raised modestly in the Canterbury region by a single Kiwi mother who works several jobs to make ends meet. At the movies, precocious children can sometimes be a grating affair, like watching a youngster enthusiastically imitate an adult with mannerisms that are a few sizes too big. But thanks to a real screenplay by Toby Harvard (based on a story by him and Timpson), Fisher seems and presumably seems comfortable with Mildred's vivacious sophistication beyond her years, while still managing to retain her innocence and his youthful spirit. Credit goes equally to her and the filmmaking duo, whose narrative quirks didn't quite work in 2019's juvenile, blood-splattered comedy-thriller “Come to Daddy.” Maybe their cinematic instincts are working better when channeled towards younger fare. .
These instincts bring them together with the 'Come to Daddy' star Elie Bois as Strawn Wise, Mildred's long-estranged American father. When a freak accident with a toaster leaves Mildred's mother in a coma, Strawn steps in to care for his sweet, strange daughter, even though he's never met her before. (Mildred was conceived during a mundane one-night stand in Las Vegas, you see.) It's no surprise that the two don't immediately bond. Being a down-on-his-luck magician (well, he prefers the classier title, “illusionist”), Strawn, somewhat uncertain, nonchalant and almost pathetically well-meaning, is not exactly the picture of model fatherhood. But lonely, voracious reader Mildred – who is both intelligent and outcast from her school due to her unique qualities – reluctantly decides to team up with him for a camping trip anyway. The quest? Gather filmed evidence of the existence of a very legendary local panther and collect the $50,000 prize offered to any intrepid explorer who successfully completes the mission.
Behind on their finances, Mildred and her dear mother can also use the loot. So the comically mismatched duo set off into the unknown in search of the creature. Although it is predictable that the two men will find not only the panther, but also a true understanding and love for each other, the way Harvard and Timpson move the story forward continues to surprise, entertain and winning hearts, with plenty of embarrassing dad jokes. and between rolling eyes to go around.
At first, most of the film's humor exploits Mildred's mind-blowing vocabulary and knowledge in comparison to the less-than-worldly existence of the strange Strawn. After all, he's just a mediocre illusionist who wears black nail polish to look cool, often failing to impress his daughter with magic tricks. (There's also a hilarious joke early on about who is David Copperfield to these eccentrics – a Dickensian character or a magician?) But little by little, Harvard's script opens up the softer depths of the duo's family ties with fires camp, picturesque lakes and various perils. situations in which they find themselves in a beautiful landscape that can also be hostile towards those who are not equipped.
The most significant of these dangers turns out to be an initially harmless couple, memorably played by Michael Smiley and Vanessa Stacey. They introduce themselves as Arnold and Angelina and join the father-daughter for what could be a fun detour. The picture changes when Strawn realizes the true identities of these offbeat personalities. On the surface, the scenes that unfold around the temporary intruders generate a few laughs and some nerve-wracking suspense. But it's also the moment when Strawn's disarming love for his daughter takes on its full meaning: when he least expects it, the call of fatherhood sneakily finds him.
Always an impressive presence with his deeply wounded gaze, Wood brings plenty of allure and comfort to his performance, restrainedly conveying Strawn's vulnerability as he rises to the occasion of parenthood. Elsewhere, cinematographer Daniel Katz's observant camera does justice to the delicate connection between the leads, giving them both the closeness and breathing room they crave across the grandiose set intended for big theater screens. This is telegraphed (rather brilliantly) from the beginning – Katz begins the film with a peculiar aspect ratio, widening the image as soon as Strawn and Mildred venture into the wild. It's almost as if the filmmakers wanted to state from the start that their intimate-scale film has larger ambitions in mind, both visually and emotionally. And that's exactly what they deliver: a deceptively small affair, unafraid to look and feel big.
