Published May 9, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET

If you read the Remarkably Bright Creatures book, then you know that the Netflix movie, which began streaming on Friday, makes a few changes to the best-selling 2022 mystery novel written by Shelby Van Pelt.

Directed by Olivia Newman ( Where the Crawdads Sing ), who also adapted the script with co-writer John Whittington, Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of a lonely, 70-year-old widow named Tova (Sally Field) who is still grappling with the death of her son, decades later. She doesn’t go to therapy, but she does share her thoughts with the giant octopus, Marcellus, at the aquarium where she works as a cleaning lady.…