By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

The Penguin Lessons (UK, 2024. Dir: Peter Cattaneo): Steve Coogan is the ultimate acquired taste. Casual observers might dismiss him as a self-absorbed jerk. People who have followed his career a bit are aware Coogan can be extremely funny (see Alan Partridge in any of his incarnations). Avid Coogan fans know there’s an undercurrent of melancholy that runs deep in his work and he’s capable of greatness (The Trip saga, Philomena).

While The Penguin Lessons isn’t upper-echelon Coogan, it’s undeniably charming—and I’ll be damned if it didn’t make me tear up at the end. Directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), the dramedy uses the fish-out-of-water approach to make a point: to live a full life means to commit to something. It’s undeniably more painful than hovering above it all, but is far more fulfilling.

Set in Argentina in the 1970’s, the country —like most of Latin America— is enduring a string of coup d’etats at hands of the military. These circumstances fail to deter English professor Tom Michell (Coogan) from taking a teaching post at a posh academy in which sons of politicians and generals prepare for a gilded future. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

As much as Tom would like the world to believe he’s completely detached, he’s primed to re-engage, first by connecting with a young caretaker at the academy with ties to the revolution, and later by rescuing a penguin from an oil spill to impress a woman. After nursing him to health, Tom’s efforts to offload the flightless bird fail until he grows attached. Through this unlikely bond, Tom realizes that his once-radical self wasn’t dead—just dormant.

The Penguin Lessons doesn’t stray far from the animals-as-source-of-redemption blueprint, but Coogan elevates the material (it’s very much in his wheelhouse). The role fits him like a glove and his relationship with the penguin is genuinely touching.

Worth mentioning, The Penguin Lessons is no I’m Still Here, the masterful Brazilian drama about missing political disidents. The film’s portrayal of Argentina under fascist rule lacks nuance, and the Spanish dialogue is painfully basic for those fluent in the language. But if you go in with tempered expectations, The Penguin Lessons delivers a perfectly pleasant, middlebrow experience. ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

The Penguin Lessons is now playing across Canada.