Last Updated on October 18, 2024 by
Bookworm is a 2024 adventure and drama Movie directed Ant Timpson. The film stars Elijah Wood, Nell Fisher, and Michael Smiley, with a runtime of 1h 43M, and was released on October 18, 2024.
Bookworm is a unique family movie in a series of movies that is quite different from the typical production we watch today. This movie directed by Ant Timpson and shot in the stunning scenery of New Zealand gives a distinct feeling when compared with many contemporary films aimed at children. Rather than relying on gimmicky special effects and cliched plots, Bookworm is raw and genuine, which gives it a nice break from all of the mediocrity out there. It does not fall into the pitfalls of being just another addition to the franchise, based on a children’s television series or filled with excessive computer graphics. Rather, it offers a fresh narrative that can be both emotional and thrilling.
This is the story of an 11-year-old girl, Mildred, who loves to read; in fact, she is so knowledgeable that they call her ‘bookworm.’ She is depicted to be the bibliophile type, implying that she is more at ease with books and information than she is with people. Mildred experiences a dramatic change in her life when she is compelled to have a relationship with her father Strawn Wise, whom she hardly knew. Strawn is a man who pretends he is an illusionist but he is a failed magician who is struggling to get back into his daughter’s life after disappearing for most of her childhood. Their purpose is to establish the existence of an elusive animal known as the Canterbury Panther. The money in trying to trace the panther would go towards settling the medical expenses of Mildred’s comatose mother who fell victim to an accident with a toaster.
Mildred likewise is not particularly looking forward to the trip; she has quite low opinions of her father, seeing him as foolish and incompetent in his line of work. Strawn, on the other hand, is portrayed as a highly awkward and insecure individual who possesses little to no clue about what he’s doing. The film contains many scenes of angry confrontations between Mildred and Strawn when they comprehend they are two different people. For instance, when they mention ‘David Copperfield,’ Strawn is probably thinking of the magician, while Mildred is thinking of the Charles Dickens novel. Mildred is sometimes a rather sarcastic character and does not hold back in expressing her opinions towards her father. At one point, she says to him, ‘You’re a failure as a man and a failure as a protector,’ which is quite a low blow for Strawn.
However, they both stand to gain numerous lessons from each of them. Even though she is intelligent and witty, the main female character, Mildred, has no friends her age. Strawn, on the other hand, is an unfortunate man who Wharton still vividly painted as a frustrated, half-grown man with no change from when he failed at his youthful dreams. This is because they gradually start developing some level of friendship as they live in the forest. Despite the initial misunderstanding, Mildred saves her father’s life several times and teaches him about survival that he didn’t know all these years, and gradually, they begin to bond.
The film finally shifts gears when two other individuals, a couple of eerie-looking hikers, appear and disrupt the vacation. These specific hikers are a heart surgeon and a fan of American soap operas; their presence gives a twist to the story and makes it more about survival rather than a father and daughter deciding to hike.
One of the most positive aspects regarding the movie titled Bookworm is the lack of clichéd elements seen in most family movies. Even if there are thrilling episodes such as one that has something to do with rope trickery, it does not transform into an empty action movie. The simplicity does not disappear in the character development as the focus remains on the two main figures. The movie is not only about the hunt for the panther; it is also about the characters’ development, especially Mildred and Strawn, who gradually develop mutual trust. Both of them have personal barriers that they struggle to overcome – Mildred buries herself in her intellect, and Strawn is imprisoned by his past mistakes.
From a visual standpoint, this movie is nothing short of breathtaking. The physical environment used in the shooting, that is the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand, contributes to the adventurous nature of the movie. However, this is not the case with Immortals since, although there are moments that use CGI, these are rare, mainly whenever the panther is in the scene. Instead, it has more of an ‘adventure’ vibe akin to beautiful, natural environments along with those subtle little miracles of life which kind of invoke the cinematic experiences of some classic family movies of the eighties like the Goonies or E.T. These older films didn’t think that their young viewers were dumb and could not comprehend anything profound or eerie, and Bookworm also has some serious and even vicious scenes that give it a hint of darkness and make it differ from most children’s movies.
In essence, the central focus of Bookworm is about togetherness, or rather the lack of it between, and primarily, the tomboyish Mildred and her father. Elijah Wood is very funny in his portrayal of Strawn; while it is quite clear that the character is not the best applicant to be a father, one learns that he genuinely loves his daughter and wants the best for her. Nell Fisher who portrayed Mildred did a fantastic job in portraying a very intelligent but outcast girl who also has her fair share of wit and a hint of black humor. The chosen actors’ chemistry is not counterintuitive, even during the scenes more focused on emotions rather than actions.
Thus, Bookworm is not an ordinary family movie that is created to be forgotten shortly after its release – it is a film with passion, laughter, and action. Coco avoids such cliches that are integral to Hollywood movies and delivers something more nuanced and poignant, with subjects that are easy to identify with. For people who are bored of clichéd films, which are full of computer-generated effects and unoriginal storylines then Bookworm is a film that is refreshing and energetic.
Bookworm 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
Bookworm is not rated because it has not undergone the official rating process by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA).
