Starfish (2016) User Reviews

When other people go to the edge....

[steve-lucas63 · 7/10 · 6 September 2021]

This is one of those movies that might satisfy you but is hardly "entertainment". A fit thirty-something man becomes ill and almost dies. The price he and his family pay for survival is extreme.

A true story of ordinary people who go through an ongoing and extraordinary situation. Performances are no-frills yet convincing.

Sad Story

[anitalansing-40-581915 · 7/10 · 23 February 2021]

I enjoyed the movie because it was really well acted and well written, but it was very sad to watch. Any kind of illness can totally permeate a person's life. Illnesses and diseases are serious situations that are beyond man's choices or non-choices. The movie did not provide the quick fix that some movies have. Very enjoyable movie, but very sad.

He's not half the man be used to be...

[sanguine_sailor · 6/10 · 7 November 2019]

The make-up in this movie is a marvel. Tom Riley (also playing a guy called Tom Ray, Natch) sure looks like he's got a disfigured face and four missing limbs. Poor fellow.

He contracts sepsis after eating some out-of-date sausages which cause his immune system to overreact (yes I did my homework after the movie was over) and, upon returning home, immediately starts taking out his anger on his family. Not their fault, dude.

This, as you can well imagine, creates a rift... and Starfish is at it's best when it shows the breakdown of this once happy brood. His wife is no longer physically attracted to him, his young daughter no longer recognises him and his newborn son... well, he's just a baby. He doesn't get a vote.

The film also shows Tom's struggle to adapt physically to having four new prosthetics to deal with, and the actor's movement is almost enough to convince you he has them under his clothes. Less persuasive is others reaction to his new appearance and gait... in the hard world we live in now, I think he'd get a bit worse treatment than one boy staring at him in a newsagent.

If nothing else, we're reminded of the salient fact that life can change in an instant and we should make the most out of every second. Starfish isn't a great movie, but it educates and entertains and won't leave your head anytime soon. 6/10

Life affirming

[carolstaib · 10/10 · 27 April 2019]

Thank you to Nic and Tom for their willingness to share their incredible story. Once in a while a story comes along just when you need to learn a life lesson. "I complained about my feet until I saw a man with no legs." Dealing with neuropathy after an injury, I have learned the ability of accepting help with the grace that it is offered. People are basically good and kind. But seeing what Tom and Nic had to go through, it is purely the strength of the human spirit and a depth of enduring love that saw them through. Had to replay the ending due to my level of absolute sobbing, not in sadness but because of the beauty of that final scene. This is an important story and I hope it created major changes in the UK.

A British Lifetime film

[freemantle_uk · 5/10 · 13 November 2021]

Starfish was a well-meaning film that wanted to raise awareness about sepsis and show the personal struggles a young family would experience after one member suffers a live changing illness. It clearly had an eye on being a Theory of Everything-esque style film. But the results were more like a Lifetime film because the film's focus was only on the familial struggles, the low-budget, and some incredibly sappy moments. What elevated Starfish was its lead actors, especially Joanne Froggatt's performance which felt real.

Well acted film about a life changing illness

[a-deards · 10/10 · 9 August 2019]

Where do you start about such an emotional film showing the effects of Sepsis.

It can not be described as an easy watch but incredibly well acted with some beautiful moments. The football scene is beyond belief.

It is challenging but totally worth it to realise how a minority suffer.

The level of self pity is totally understandable and portrayed in a brilliant manner by Tom. Some may find it over the top but would any of us be any better? You can't imagine having to be in this situation.

His wife and daughter play their parts stunningly well and display love beyond imagination given the circumstances. Every element of their lives and the impact of the illness is covered.

It is a very moving brilliant 90 minutes that will stay in your mind for a long time.

disappointing

[watcher2019 · 5/10 · 18 September 2022]

Having some experiance of a huge change in a family member this really brushed over the difficult parts and told everyone it all works out ok. Nope real life is not like that. Yes she is a strong woman wanting to work through this and hoping it all works out. In real life it rarely does. They would have parted like so many do. The change to him was too much. It moved very quickly through the months but ia msure every day moved like one month for all of them. Glossed over very large parts. I laughed out loud at the doctor who had never done a facial recory surgery before how utterly typical. Ordinary people get lost in a system where they dare not ask specific questions and if they had they would have been as a problem.

Bloody brilliant!

[andreealupea · 10/10 · 14 July 2019]

I've come across this film by chance, on a Sunday afternoon, looking for something to unwind with. Very difficult to watch , very 'deep' but absolutely brilliant and truly inspirational

Scary

[loueysmith · 8/10 · 22 April 2023]

This movie is the exact reason I never eat anything meat related or dairy that's expired. To be honest, I never eat anything at all that's expired, not even eggs (and many tell me that eggs have a couple more days on their best before date) as it's just not worth the risk to your health. I'm not an overly cautious person either, but still would not risk it.

Admittedly I've never come across anyone who suffers for it the way the man in this movie does (it's entirely believable, I just haven't seen it). When I was a teenager my friends Dad contracted salmonella from food he ate at a party and he ended up in Hospital very sick, but even he wasn't as sick as this case is and he eventually recovered fully. But he was the reason I swore I'd always be careful with food. Health should always be chosen over the small pleasure of consuming some sausages, I'd literally rather go hungry than risk it!

This movie is very scary, how he goes from playing with his kid, being a super Dad and happy guy, to becoming disfigured and losing his limbs. It's incredibly sad the whole story, everything he loses, has to overcome, but also the consequences it has on his Wife who has to go through the Birth of her new baby alone, then has to juggle not only being her hubby's support, but a little girl and a newborn baby, plus struggles with money.

It's heartbreaking!

I haven't watched the ending yet, so I'll update this review when I do...but so far, this story is remarkable and so very sad.

And could have all been prevented by chucking the sausages out!!

Just watched the end and wow, that football scene was special and powerful.

Definitely flowed the tears.

Navigating the unnavigable.

[Bill-i-am · 10/10 · 23 January 2023]

This is a heartbreaking story that's told with sensitivity.

A regular guy gets an infection that leaves him disfigured and significantly disabled. This movie tells the story of how he and his family make it through the ordeal. It's a story about how the limits of love and dedications are tested, it's also a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Fight or flight, I suppose, is a real thing. Many, many people would (and do) throw in the towel when faced with the unspeakable horror that Tom Ray (magnificently portrayed by Tom Riley) must confront.

I wasn't expecting the uplifting, optimistic conclusion that Bill Clark leads us too, but after so much grimness, I must admit it was a welcome relief, even if it's a surprise and probably unrealistic.

This is a great little movie.

You can't tell the whole story in the last 15 minutes of the movie and expect me to be thrilled about the experience.

[tailsofthewind · 15 April 2020]

This movie lost me a long, long time ago...

I absolutely loved her apartment though.

But I sincerely regret buying and watching this movie.

It's a deeply personal story that completely escapes me.