Film’s magpies steal the show
Penguin Bloom
(PG, 95 mins) Directed by Glendyn Ivin Reviewed by James Croot ★★★1⁄2
Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts) has always loved the ocean. She and husband Cameron (Andrew Lincoln) met on the beach as teenagers and have been together since. Three boys just added to their joy and, with a seaside home to call their own, everything was perfect for the Blooms – until last year.
That’s when a family trip to Thailand ended in tragedy. While lining up for a photo, a balcony gave way, sending Sam plunging six metres on to the concrete below.
Although lucky to be alive, her severe injuries included damage to her spinal, cord which meant she couldn’t feel anything from her bra strap down.
Struggling to deal with what she is now unable to do (‘‘I can’t even be a mum,’’ she opines, when her lads start regularly calling out for their father, rather than her), Sam decides to shut herself off from the world.
Equally frustrated by her unwillingness to even engage in a meaningful way with them, Cameron and the boys then find an unlikely ally. While Noah’s (Griffin Murray-Johnston) introduction of Penguin, the injured magpie, to the house is initially met with reluctance (‘‘we’ve already got enough to worry about here,’’ Cameron sighs), the little bird forms an unlikely bond with Sam, as it seeks her out for companionship.
Naturally, there are small triumphs and setbacks, trails of destruction, and copious amounts of guano to navigate as director Glendyn Ivin’s (best known for his work on TV productions such as the Puberty Blues reboot and Gallipoli mini-series) drama follows a well-worn path towards a heartwarming ending.
But, if the film-making is solid, rather than spectacular, and the script by Harry Cripps (The Dry) and Shaun Grant (True History of the Kelly Gang), based on Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive’s 2016 book, subtitled The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family, offers few real revolutionary and revelatory moments outside of the ‘‘overcoming adversity movie’’ playbook, Watts’ (The Impossible, Mulholland Drive) at least delivers a performance that keeps you engaged in her plight.
You can really feel her character’s barely suppressed rage and frustration as what used to be simple tasks seem beyond her.
And although Lincoln (Love Actually, The Walking Dead) and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) are given little to do as Sam’s powerless husband and mother respectively, New Zealand’s own Rachel House continues to enhance her reputation as a scene-stealer with a small, but memorable turn as a straight-talking ‘‘water trainer’’.
‘‘I haven’t drowned a student yet. Ex-husband? Now that’s a different story,’’ she deadpans to an astonished Sam.
Equally impressive are the 10 avian performers drafted in to portray Penguin. They’re so good they might even redeem magpies’ somewhat patchy public reputation.