When elderly cleaning lady Tova (Sally Field) injures her foot, she needs help taking care of the Washington aquarium where she works; young drifter Cameron (Lewis Pullman) gives her a hand, under the watchful eye of Marcellus the octopus.

A bestseller gets its film adaptation and the results are crowd-pleasing, especially thanks to winning performances by Field as a woman who’s still hurting from the loss of her son, and Pullman who’s mourning his mother and feels lost.

Endearing, even if the story (and its connection to the aging, perceptive and adventurous octopus) feels slight.

2026-U.S. VOD. 111 min. Color. Directed by Olivia Newman. Screenplay: Olivia Newman, John Whittington. Novel: Shelby Van Pelt. Cast: Sally Field (Tova Sullivan), Lewis Pullman (Cameron Cassmore), Joan Chen (Janice Kim), Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Colm Meaney. Voice of Alfred Molina (Marcellus).