Yes, this was somehow written by the man who made The White Lotus.
What it's about
Together with the other animals at a circus inside a Florida shopping mall, a gorilla plans to escape from captivity.
The take
Better than any movie starring a talking CGI gorilla has any right to be, The One and Only Ivan isn't so much a family adventure so much as it's a light character study that younger viewers should also enjoy. The film still runs into a number of the same problems you might expect—haphazard plotting, celebrity voice acting that adds nothing to the characters—but it's still remarkably thoughtful and has the maturity to explore much sadder territory. As much as movies originally released on Disney+ can at times feel like products churned out from an assembly line, this one feels far more sincere, with a real message behind it.
What stands out
You would also expect a film so blatantly about animal rights to have its central human character be a full-fledged villain, but that isn't what happens here. The ringleader (played by Bryan Cranston) is still shown to be in the wrong, complicit in how these animals don't have the freedom they deserve, but the movie still comes from a place of sympathy towards him. He's a person who genuinely cares about Ivan and the others, forced to make difficult decisions given the struggles of his business—and it's this three-dimensional portrayal of the character that actually helps the movie's pro-animal rights stance make a greater impact.
Comments
Add a comment
Your name
Your comment
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
More like this in
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.
8.1
The Guilty (2018)
A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.
9.0
Forgotten Love (2023)
The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama
7.7
An Autumn’s Tale (1987)
Two Hong Kong immigrants find a new life, and a new love, in this New York-shot romantic drama
7.6
System Crasher (2019)
A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.
9.0
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Lars von Trier breaks his rules in the tearjerking first film of the Golden Heart trilogy
8.1
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending
8.2
Hail Satan? (2019)
Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple
8.0
A Silent Voice (2016)
A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy
8.7
Lust, Caution (2007)
A wartime spy falls for a collaborator in this erotic espionage drama