Christine Merser reviews Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, reflecting on grief, friendship, aging, and the quiet emotional power of the film’s unforgettable octopus, Marcellus.

And so the deeply human characters unwind in front of us. And just as she has so many times before, Sally Field unveils her inner self, not miming a character laid out for her on the pages, but finding her own character from her own past and showing it in every line on her face, every tone of voice, and every slow-moving movement of her aging body.

In theaters, marketing is everything. If the campaign does not land, the film effectively does not exist. On streaming, the platform replaces the campaign.