At The Movies: Bookworm
A delightful comedy-drama from New Zealand featuring a precocious, but so likeable, eleven-year old girl and her estranged father.
Mildred (Nell Fisher, Evil Dead Rise) has been raised by her struggling mother, and to escape a mundane existence put all her spare time into books. She is highly intelligent and is quite precocious. After an accident at home puts her mother in hospital. Mildred’s estranged American father, Strawn White (Elijah Wood, Lord Of The Rings trilogy) turns up to look after her. He portrays himself as a professional illusionist but seems to be a bit washed-up. Mildred is totally unimpressed with his feeble attempts to impress her with his tricks.
She has an obsession to try to find evidence of the existence of a Canterbury Panther, supposed to have been sighted in the wilds. Mildred is upset because her mother was supposed to take her camping so that she can look for the mythological creature. Strawn, trying desperately to win favour of his precocious daughter, volunteers to go with her. Neither have an camping or hiking experience, Mildred relying on her extensive reading knowledge – so what could possibly go wrong?
Bookworm is the perfect medium to showcase the absolutely stunning New Zealand south island countryside – and it does so to perfection. Being in such remote country, the chances of meeting anyone is just as remote. The first is an old fan of Wise’s now defunct TV show who wants to see some of his illusions – much to Mildred’s disgust. The only others are a married couple who befriend them and insist on walking together. This encounter though, is not what it first seems, and changes the whole outcome of their camping adventure.
This really is a delightful, heart-warming movie. The constant friction between a timid magician who prefers the bars of Las Vegas, and the precocious eleven-year old that he had never met, is both hilarious and moving. She is constantly putting him down while he is constantly trying to bond with his daughter. What a struggle, what beautiful scenery, and what a wonderful storyline!
Movie Review by John Glennie
Showing in Cinemas now
Rating: PG
Running Time: 103 minutes
