Film reviews: THE PENGUIN LESSONS, DEATH OF A UNICORN 

• Sony Pictures Classics
• The Penguin Lessons

How do you respond when you can no longer ignore that the system is broken? That's not a direct challenge as it applies to our present moment—although, let's face it, it could be—but it's a terrific moral question on which to hang a narrative. Plenty of people move blithely through life not particularly concerned about injustice when it doesn't directly affect them; awakening to the reality that silence is complicity can be the stuff of real character drama.

It's kind of a bummer, then, when you see a movie that seems willing to take on that idea, but does so sloppily. That's the case in The Penguin Lessons, a fact-based story taken from a memoir written by Tom Michell (played here by Steve Coogan), a British-born educator who takes a job teaching English at an exclusive prep school in Buenos Aires circa 1976, just at the outset of Argentina's military coup overthrowing the Perón regime. During a temporary closure caused by the political disruption, Michell takes a vacation in Uruguay and—through a convoluted series of events—winds up in possession of a penguin rescued from an oil slick.

In theory, Michell's responsibility for his new avian friend leads him on a journey from what the school's pragmatic headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) refers to as a "head down sort of fellow" who won't make waves, to one willing to stand up to injustices like the kidnapping of one of the school's custodial staff (Alfonsina Carrocio). The path towards that nascent activism, however, feels like a pretty circuitous one, requiring a stop for the revelation that Michell is still grieving a lost daughter, so maybe the penguin reminds him of her, which in turn leads him to caring for others, or something of the sort. And though Coogan's history as a performer should find him excelling when playing a character who's self-absorbed, here he mostly seems to be emotionally constipated. While director Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) understands how to handle more light-hearted stuff involving the way Michell incorporates his penguin into his teaching, and you get some charm out of Michell's interactions with other characters, The Penguin Lessons doesn't really know how to make the transition from that stuff to opening your eyes and realizing you're staring into the face of fascism.

• A24 Films
• Death of a Unicorn

A different kind of come-to-Jesus drives Death of a Unicorn, as well as a radically different tone. It's a dark monster comedy involving a corporate attorney named Elliot (Paul Rudd) who travels with his college-age daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), to the Canadian Rockies for a potentially huge career moment with his boss, terminally-ill pharmaceutical CEO Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). On the drive to Odell's estate, however, Elliot and Ridley hit what turns out to be a unicorn—and the discovery that the unicorn's blood and horn have healing properties sets off an increasingly messy encounter with the creature's parents.

Writer/director Alex Scharfman's debut feature leans into the genre side of things, as Unicorn Daddy and Unicorn Mommy eventually wreak their bloody vengeance. Yet this is also supposed to be a satire about what happens when corporate avarice encounters a new resource to exploit, accentuated by the strained relationship between Ridley and her widowed dad, and whether or not Elliot will come to a realization that he's working for the real monster.

Unfortunately, Scharfman generally appears far more interested in teasing out a convoluted mythology for his fantastic beasts—discovered, as such things are in 21st-century movies, via plenty of Googling—than centering Elliot's enlightenment. The wicked charms of many of the supporting performances—Will Poulter as Odell's pathetic failson; Téa Leoni as Odell's earnest wife who manages the family charities; Anthony Carrigan as the family's put-upon servant—make it even more evident how bland our theoretical protagonists are, particularly Ortega, in what now feels like her default "sullen goth kid" mode.

As much material as there is to be mined from choosing to give a shit, it's a notion that seems to demand a genuine edge. Here are two cases where what could have been a rebel yell instead feels like a polite clearing of the throat.

DEATH OF A UNICORN
Jenna Ortega
Paul Rudd
Rated R
Available March 28 in theaters