Bookworm

Ant Timpson’s spirited adventure tale, one of the few truly family-friendly films screening at Fantasia 2024, is preceded by a notice which seems as likely to deter tourists as to reassure them: there is, it says, no evidence of any wild animal in New Zealand/Aotearoa big enough to eat humans. Look into this, however, and you’ll find plenty of claims to the contrary. They date at least as far back as 1915, when a pregnant puma escaped from a cage on the South Island and vanished into the wilds, and there was a confirmed sighting of a big cat in 1977 which was out down to a circus animal supposedly having escaped, been recaptured and been hushed up to avoid legal trouble. To this day, new sightings continue to be reported, and there are sometimes accompanying images, though it’s difficult to ascertain scale. One of the most famous such beasts to be reported is known as the Canterbury Panther.

Is it real? Maybe, maybe not – but either way, you can bet that it’s fascinating to the kind of 11-year-old girl whose bedroom is plastered with maps and cryptid stories, whose shelves are full of jars containing curious animal specimens, who spends her evenings peering through a telescope and who is otherwise rarely to be found without her nose in a book. Mildred (Nell Fisher, who made quite an impression in Evil Dead Rise despite her tender age) is especially keen to go looking for the panther because a reward offered for video footage of it could clear her mother’s debts. Unfortunately, on the eve of their planned camping trip together, a freak accident with a domestic appliance leaves her mother in a coma. She’s placed in the care of her biological father, an American whom she has never met before.

This is Strawn (Elijah Wood), who styles himself as an illusionist – definitely not just a stage magician, even if he makes his living at celebrities’ children’s birthday parties. Despite having known her mother for less than three hours on their one encounter, he stresses that he did try to do the decent thing as a dad, and he’s keen to be there for Mildred now. As he quickly discovers, however, she’s not an easy kid to impress. He’s significantly weaker-willed, so he soon finds himself accompanying her on a quest for the aforementioned big cat, out in the wilds, with no experience and only her book learning to keep the two of them safe. What will surprise him is just how formidable that is.

In many ways this is formulaic stuff. It will come as no surprise that the two gradually form a bond and that one of them does some growing up whilst the other learns to let go of the stress of always trying to be a provider – even if that doesn’t happen the usual way round. The risk of it getting too sugary is alleviated by the brusqueness of the characters and dialogue. Fisher and Wood achieve a great rapport, and there’s some entertaining supporting work even though much of our time is spent in the middle of nowhere. There are also some serious thrills and spills. In places it’s properly nerve-racking stuff, especially for younger viewers, but not of the sort that will leave them upset afterwards.

Adding to the pleasure here is the stunning beauty of the landscape, which shows that the country has a lot more to offer than just what was featured in the Lord Of The Rings films. Locations are well chosen to complement the changing atmosphere, and add to the sense of how lost Strawn is, both literally and metaphorically, whilst Timpson deftly avoids distracting references to Wood’s previous work. This film very much belongs to a younger generation anyway. Stalwart and courageous and yet still sometimes acutely vulnerable, Mildred manages to be something of a role model without ceasing to be relatable. The ease with which she torments her hapless father will delight young viewers just as much as the assurance that he’ll be there for her when it really counts.