‘The Penguin Lessons’ Review: Steve Coogan Subverts A Potentially Whimsical Setup With Surprising Dark Humor – Toronto Film Festival
deadline.comAll too often, a TIFF premiere is seen as an audition for a U.S. release, when the end result is more like sending a manned space flight into the sun.
The Penguin Lessons is a case in point, being a peculiarly British movie that takes a very traditional trope — man becomes attached to a very unusual pet — and then infuses it with an unexpectedly modern sense of humor.
Given its setting (Argentina, 1976, just as President Isabel Perón is being booted out), there were always going to be some serious issues to deal with that wouldn’t quite square with what is essentially a wry comedy.
Star Steve Coogan, however, working from a script by his frequent writing partner Jeff Pope, does his best to ground the movie, using irony in a way that international audiences may find hard to process.
Read more on deadline.com