Shawn (Elijah Wood) and Mildred (Nell Fisher) in Bookworm. Photo / Supplied
Shawn (Elijah Wood) and Mildred (Nell Fisher) in Bookworm. Photo / Supplied
Judging by his previous feature as director – Come to Daddy – and the movies he’s had his name on as producer, as well as his Incredibly Strange Film Festival programming gig, Ant Timpson seems an unlikely figure to be making films for, or about, children. But there have beenplenty of youngsters through his 48 Hour film-making contest’s student competition. And arguably in Bookworm, 11-year-old Mildred is the only responsible adult in its mad, highly amusing wilderness adventure. She’s a Roald Dahl-ish character of vast vocabulary and breathtaking precociousness.
Played by Nell Fisher, she’s the sweet and funny heart of yet another Kiwi movie where kid and adult head for the hills. She’s accompanied by Strawn (Elijah Wood, star of Come to Daddy), her estranged American father and a could-a-been Las Vegas magician. He’s turned up to look after her when Mum (Morgana O’Reilly) has a nasty accident with a toaster. Mildred insists on a daddy and daughter hunt to find the Canterbury Panther, video footage of which will solve a family financial problem.
Having navigated those early just-go-with-it story hurdles with ease, the story heads into territory that is as scenic as it is unpredictable. The cryptid big cat turns out not to be the only threat, and if this is aimed at being fun for the whole family, it hasn’t stopped some of its weird turns feeling mildly unsettling.
Much of the film’s latent anxiety comes via Wood’s offbeat turn as Strawn. He might be a hapless second fiddle to Fisher’s scene-stealing Mildred, but you have to smile in a scene where the actor formerly known as Frodo gets to carry his smaller, wiser companion, if not up a NZ mountain, then quite near some.
Rating out of 5: ★★★★
Bookworm, directed by Ant Timpson,is in cinemas from August 8.
