Reviewing ”Penguin Bloom”: A bland tale helped by a powerful performance from Naomi Watts

Penguin Bloom is a drama film starring Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln. Watts plays Sam Bloom, a avid sportswoman who leans onto an unstable railing while on vacation in Thailand, causing her to fall over the railing and break part of her spine. Sam is therefore unable to move her legs after this, and the film chronicles her struggles to stay optimistic in the face of the tragedy and her fragile relationships with her husband and children, but she begins to regain some hope when the eponymous Penguin Bloom, a wounded Australian magpie found by the children, becomes a constant companion in the house and Sam grows to care for it.

The plot is simple motivational "based on a true story" fare, with the arrival of wounded animal serving as the catalyst for embracing changes in life and overcoming adversity. It's not a bad thing, since these types of stories can be genuinely good. This one, however, seems rather mediocre, as the simple story blatantly tugs at the heartstrings to wring emotion out of the audience, showing that Sam is or at least feels lesser due to her disability, and it is not until near the end that she suddenly decides to take up kayaking to deal with her disability, with the wrap-up coming so quickly that it seems to be a subplot. The story of Penguin is also finished inconclusively, with only a simple line of text serving as the end to her story. However, since the film is based on a true story, some embellishments have to be made for the sake of creating a film, but again, the drama just seems excessive. One aspect of the story that should have more focus is the guilt that Noah, one of Sam's sons, feels because he took her up to the place where she fell over the broken railing. The film just really seems to lack focus in general.

However, one redeeming feature are the performances. Not only is Naomi Watts giving a sincerely heartbreaking performance as Sam, Andrew Lincoln is also pretty good as supportive husband Cameron, and it goes without saying that Penguin is a very cute bird with a lot of hilarious antics.

Penguin Bloom is a simple motivational tale with a lack of focus but redeemed by good performances from Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln, and that lovable magpie.

Score: 7/10