We need hopecore movies like Remarkably Bright Creatures more than ever today

Have you watched Remarkably Bright Creatures yet?

Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix has swiftly become one of my favourite movies of the year by a long shot, and not only because Lewis Pullman is one of the lead stars in this heartwarming and tender Netflix film.

Hollywood has turned its back on many genres, from the rom-com to hopecore, with franchises, sequels, and remakes feeling like the only thing we can go to see in the local cinema lately. Luckily, Remarkably Bright Creatures is breathing new life into the hopecore genre, and it's exactly what I needed to watch.

While working nights at a small-town aquarium, a widow bonds with a clever octopus and an adrift young man in this drama based on the bestseller by Shelby Van Pelt. 

With over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide, readers' hopes were high for this book-to-screen adaptation, and luckily, the Netflix movie delivered, and then some.

Did this movie make me cry like a baby? Yes, but it also filled me with hope, something that too many movies have failed to do recently. This is the type of movie we all need in a world that makes us lose all hope in humanity, and when we're exposed to an endless news cycle full of horror and dread.

Hopecore should be popular again. It should be what Hollywood is focusing on because it's the genre that really lifts our spirits more than anything. Lewis Pullman and Sally Field are nothing but enchanting in this heartbreaking story of people who feel lost as they struggle to find their place in this lonely world.

This movie will remind you that you can always piece your life back together, no matter how lost and hopeless you feel. It will instill you with hope, fill you with warmth, and remind you that there are people out there who make your life feel remarkably bright again, even after the darkest of times.

It's a film that will ultimately make you feel hopeful, and that's something we could all do with right now. It's exactly what I needed, and a movie I'm so grateful for. Hopecore may be dismissed as twee or cheesy, but it's a genre that gives us some ounce of positivity and light in a world that is so full of darkness right now. It may just offer someone an escape for two hours, but it's an escape we'll happily welcome with open arms.

What is the book about?

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago, keeping busy has helped her cope. One night, she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who sees everything, but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors - until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Buy Remarkably Bright Creatures here.

Buy the Kindle version here.