Film Review - Bookworm
Images courtesy of Rialto Distribution.
Over twenty years ago, actor Elijah Wood became well acquainted with the mountains and forests of New Zealand while playing Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 2019, he paired up with director Ant Timpson to star in the deranged father-son reunion thriller Come to Daddy. In 2024, he returns to NZ and reunites with Timpson for the heartwarming and quirky Bookworm, which also centres on an estranged child reconnecting with their father. Thankfully, Bookworm is a much sweeter and less macabre affair.
Eleven-year-old Mildred (Nell Fisher) is, as the film’s title suggests, a bookworm who finds herself lost in stories and her own imagination. She abounds with curiosity and craves the adventure she reads about. When her mother is suddenly hospitalised, her estranged father, washed-up illusionist Strawn Wise (Wood), flies from Las Vegas to New Zealand to take care of his daughter. With Mildred worried about her mother, Strawn takes her on a camping trip to find the Canterbury Panther, a mysterious beast with a large reward attached to its discovery. While the father-daughter duo traverse the wilds and overcome obstacles, they are forced to confront Strawn’s absence in Mildred’s life, and form a newfound bond.
Bookworm may seem like your typical family film at first glance, it surprisingly goes a lot deeper and provides something unexpected. While the film appears on the surface to simply be about Mildred and Strawn trying to find the Canterbury Panther, it is really about a broken family repairing itself and a father fully accepting his responsibility as a parent. Emotion and humour are balanced expertly well, and the dysfunctional relationship between Mildred and Strawn is highly charming and entertaining. Wood is reliably excellent, but it’s the film’s young star, Nell Fisher, who steals the show. She imbues Mildred with intelligence, wit, sass and charisma, and lights up the screen. Mildred is undoubtedly a know-it-all, but she’s endearing instead of annoying thanks to Fisher’s performance.
The film could also double as an advertisement for NZ tourism, with cinematography that beautifully captures the luscious and vast greenery of the country. Comparisons to Taika Waitit’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople are inevitable, with Bookworm featuring the same quirky humour, spirited young protagonist and mother nature as an almost otherworldly and mystical force. While the film seems to be marketed towards kids, it can be difficult to pinpoint its exact target audience while watching. It has all the ingredients that make a standard family adventure flick, but there are some abrupt, almost horror-like moments and dialogue related to mature themes that may make viewers question who the movie is for. This can be jarring in terms of the film’s tone, but is luckily not an overwhelming issue.
Bookworm is a delightful ride that offers the humour, heart and thrills of the best old-fashioned adventure films, while remaining grounded and character-driven.
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Bookworm is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.