Is 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' Based on a True Story? Inside the Genius Behind the Film

Calling all mystery drama lovers! Netflix is coming in hot with a new film that’ll tickle your fancy, Reasonably Bright Creatures. Focusing on emotional connections, the film explores the life of a lonely widow who finds companionship with a giant Pacific octopus in a local aquarium. While the idea of finding comfort and a quasi-friendship with an octopus seems a bit far-fetched, the movie shows how one could find answers about grief in the most unexpected places.

Since the film is based on the contemporary novel of the same name, written by Shelby Van Pelt, viewers have been inquiring about the film’s background. Is the film loosely based on real-life people? Is it a true story? Keep reading to get the full scoop.

No, Remarkably Bright Creatures is not based on a true story. However, the book and the film are based on real-life fascinations of the author.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Public Library, Shelby shared that she got the idea of the story from watching an internet video.

“I saw this clip of an octopus who was determined to escape its enclosure, and I just thought…there’s a character in there,” she told the outlet. “A little while later, I was in a writing workshop, and we had this prompt to write from an unexpected point of view, so my mind immediately went to that octopus. Exasperated and frustrated at the bumbling humans who were trying to keep him confined. The scene that I wrote in that class eventually became the first pages of this novel.”

Based on the film and the book, one may think that Shelby had extensive knowledge about Pacific octopuses, but she shares that she had to lean on her research skills when writing the novel.

“Most of it happened after I’d already become quite attached to Marcellus, as a character, and his personality,” she shared about conducting research. “I don’t know whether a captive octopus would be capable of such a snarky disposition, but I did want the logistics of what he was perceiving and doing, physically, to be somewhat believable, if at a stretch.”

Although the film and book are not based on a true story, some people in Shelby’s life inspired some of the characters, including Tova, the lonely widow who lost her husband and her son.

“Tova is loosely based on my late grandmother,” Shelby revealed to the Los Angeles Public Library. “Like Tova, she was a tiny Swedish woman who was as sweet as she was stoic. Emotionally inscrutable. Everything was always just fine. She kept herself busy, always. Cleaning, ironing, crocheting, and crosswording. I rarely saw her idle."

She continued: "And like the inspiration with Marcellus, it just kind of occurred to me that there’s a character in there. In that person who seems to always keep their world in motion, perhaps in fear of the reality that stillness might bring.”