The partnership between director/producer Ant Timpson and Elijah Wood has led to some strange results. Wood starred in Timpson’s weird black comedy Come to Daddy in 2019, while the two also produced one of the worst and most uncomfortable movies ever made, The Greasy Strangler. Now the two are together again for Bookworm, another definite oddity, but perhaps a bit more mainstream than we usually get from the duo.
Bookworm stars Wood as a washed-up illusionist who reunites with his estranged, precocious young daughter, played by Nell Fisher, into the New Zealand wilderness to find a mythical black panther.
The father/daughter bonding looks awkwardly charming as they encounter nature’s most dangerous threats, including deadly farts, necessitating the need for a “fart free zone.” Oh, kids.
Also in the cast are Morgana O’Reilly, Vanessa Stacey, and Michael Smiley.
If this is half as awesome as the Timpson-produced retro superhero movie Turbo Kid, then we’re in for a treat.
SYNOPSIS: In the midst of a family crisis, a washed-up American illusionist (Elijah Wood) and his long-estranged precocious daughter (Nell Fisher) venture into the New Zealand wilderness in search of a mythical black panther.
Bookworm opens in New Zealand on August 8th, with a full international release to come.
