Peter Cattaneo directs Steve Coogan, Vivian El Jaber and Jonathan Pryce in this true story about a British teacher who taught at a boys’ boarding school in Argentina in the 1970s who finds himself begrudgingly looking after a penguin.

Mid level apocalypse. If there is one glimmer of hope in the obliteration of cinema for adults that is neither arthouse or blockbuster, it is Steve Coogan’s standing in the international market. His status as a comedy legend in Britain coupled with his ‘just about recognisable’ status in Hollywood and the global sphere means he has a rare freedom. Every couple of years he can make a modestly budgeted bittersweet drama (The Look Of Love, Philomena) and it can be sold in multiple markets for theatrical release and even make enviable matinee bucks in the U.K. Not Paddington or Bridget Jones sequel mad moolah but more than enough to justify itself and the next one. More importantly they can launch these mature leaning flicks outside the awards race season. The Penguin Lessons is a fine example. Coogan plays a curmudgeon who softens with flair, there’s a mop from Dead’s Poets Society and a smidge of the hard hitting milieu of Missing. It blends together nicely into a confection that mostly avoids saccharine. And has a cute penguin to boot. Why isn’t Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise taking a salary cut to do one of these in between streaming blockbuster series and action extravaganzas? Now I’m not saying either would be better in the package than Coogan is here. But what now feels tailor made for him might revive the market on a grander scale if you still had someone… anyone… with a bit of A-List global juice who started taking the same long game risk….

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Perfect Double Bill: Philomena (2013)