‘Bookworm’ Movie Ending Explained And Recap: Did Mildred Capture Footage Of The Panther?

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We do not get to watch father-daughter bonding movies that often. Most of them are animated ones produced by Disney or Pixar. Also, any movie filmed in New Zealand tends to be fantasy fiction, for example, Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia films. These films popularized New Zealand as a destination that has not just picturesque views but also locations that could be mistaken for places we see in fantasy fiction cinema. Bookworm, directed by Ant Timpson, is about a father who meets his biological daughter for the first time. What the reason behind his arrival could be is the focus of the plot of Bookworm.

Spoilers Ahead


What was Mildred searching for?

Mildred was an eleven-year-old girl living with her mother in New Zealand. She was obsessed with locating the famed Canterbury Panther, which had reportedly been sighted in the forest of New Zealand, though there was never actual footage to prove its existence. Mildred and her mother had planned to go camping to seek photographs or videos of the said animal. Mildred was preparing for the trip by following her black cat with her camera when the electricity conked off. A young Mildred found her mother unconscious on the kitchen floor, having been electrocuted and rendered comatose. 


Who was Mildred’s father?

Mildred was placed in a foster home in New Zealand until Strawn Wise, her biological father from the United States of America, showed up, as he was the last living family member she had. Strawn was a magician, although he referred to himself as an illusionist. Strawn was meeting Mildred for the first time, and she was not happy to see her father and his magic tricks. She refused to call him father or dad, but Strawn was sympathetic to her situation and promised to do anything for her. 


Why did father and daughter go on the camping trip?

Mildred was quick to let him know about her plan to do a camping trip, which she had planned with her mother a long time ago. Strawn learned that his daughter wanted to locate a specific black panther during the camping trip as there was a prize reward for those who could bring in concrete proof of the animal’s existence. Strawn was scared initially, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He wanted to spend time with his daughter and agreed to the adventure. To him, Mildred came across as a girl who was way more mature than other eleven-year-olds. 


Did Mildred spot the Panther?

The camping trip was not going well for Strawn, as he was not used to living in the wilderness. Even though this was Mildred’s first time camping too, she seemed to have adjusted well, as she had read up and kept herself informed. While her search for the panther continued, Strawn tried to impress her with his lighting-the-match skill and as a result, Mildred was finally amazed. The father and the daughter disagreed a lot, and during one of their low-key arguments, Mildred sensed the presence of a predator. The black panther she was looking for was on the other side of the lake, and she quietly begged her father to stay still as their movement could startle the animal and they could get attacked as a result. A teary-eyed Mildred was able to get the footage, and she recorded a small video for her mother stating she was successful in her goal.


Were Strawn and Mildred robbed?

Mildred was excited about the footage she had on her hands, while Strawn was happy about the fact that he was with her during this monumental moment. Both were spending time around the flora and fauna of New Zealand when they ran into an elderly couple, Angelina and Arnold. Mildred and Strawn were excited to find new people to talk to and began to walk with them. Mildred and Angelina were getting along, when Arnold mentioned to Strawn that he was one of the most sought-after heart surgeons in the Oceania region. Strawn was impressed with the man until he revealed his true side. 

Arnold was not the real name of the man, and he threatened Strawn with harming his daughter if he did not part with their valuables. Strawn was stunned as he could not defend himself and was unable to stop the couple from taking away the camera, which had the footage of the panther. Strawn was distraught and helpless, and Mildred was livid at him for letting this happen to them. He was not sure how they would survive the wilderness without their stuff, to which Mildred mentioned they had enough resources remaining to survive for a little while. The father and daughter were finally on the same page and were conversing about their past. A scared Mildred mentioned she had wanted her mother to disappear and hoped her father would come back looking for her. Now that it had really happened, she was not sure if she wanted it. Mildred also learned about Strawn’s life in the United States and how he met her mother, which was an awkward story. He mentioned offering to fly her mother to the United States and help her through the pregnancy, but she’d declined it. 


How did Strawn get their stuff back?

Strawn and Mildred were camping with their bare necessities when both heard Angelina and Arnold fighting in the tent they stole. As the couple was busy arguing, Mildred was able to sneak into their tent and steal the bag that had all their essentials in it. Mildred and Strawn quickly ran away before Arnold could catch up to them. To their horror, both had reached a cliffside, and they had no clue how to move forward from that point on. Mildred checked the camera to find out the couple taped over her video of the panther, which upset her. 


How did the father and daughter save themselves?

Mildred and Strawn were clueless about how to head back without having to face the deathly cliff. Only seconds later, the same panther made an appearance, and according to Mildred, the animal was hungry. As the animal was coming near, both jumped onto the rope connecting two sides of the cliff. The father and daughter hoped to reach the other side by hanging on the rope through slow movements. The panther tried to fray the rope as the father and daughter were struggling to hang by the rope. At one point, Mildred almost lost her grip, but Strawn held her before she could fall to the depths of the trench. This was Strawn’s chance to prove he was a father figure who would do anything for his daughter. He knew both could fall in danger as he joined Mildred’s pursuit for the panther, yet he believed in her goal and followed her without discouraging her. Even though they faced several life-threatening situations with the panther on the other side and a deep trench below them, Strawn was not willing to lose hope. His love for his daughter and his fatherly emotions were finally kicking in. 


Did Mildred capture the footage of the panther?

The rope snapped rather quickly, and both fell. When Strawn and Mildred woke up with grave injuries because of the fall. Mildred was stuck as a tree trunk had fallen on her leg, and she could barely move. This was the result of their expedition that went wrong after they ran into the said panther. Mildred was a child, and she did not realize the trip would be dangerous as she pictured the world to be a simple place. She had not expected to be robbed and suffer injuries due to a fall. If she and Strawn made it out of this situation, this would be the biggest adventure she ever had. 

Strawn offered some mushrooms to her before confirming they were safe. The young girl had done enough research on what was edible in the forest in case of emergencies such as this one. She got some good sleep after consuming the mushrooms, and it possibly reduced her pain as well. However, Strawn was unable to pick up the tree trunk. He did not want this to be his only adventure with Mildred, as he was just getting to know her. To his shock, she finally called him dad, which was the reassurance he had been looking for since the day he met Mildred. Mildred had refused to call him ‘dad’ as he hadn’t been a part of her life for eleven years. They had no connection, but Strawn was hoping to build one on this trip. Strawn was high on the forest mushrooms as well, but hearing Mildred refer to him as ‘dad’ was an exhilarating moment. Strawn gathered all the strength to lift the log of wood off of Mildred’s leg. 

Since Bookworm was a fantasy fiction adventure tale about an illusionist, his ability to lift a log could be because of his magic skills. Since he’d been out of touch all this while, his daughter’s words of reassurance might have worked on him. The power of love manifested into a strength Strawn never knew he had in him. Strawn ran out of the wilderness clutching Mildred, only to find Angelina and Arnold fighting with each other. Strawn had not expected to run into them again, but he decided to steal their car to get revenge on them. 

Strawn needed the car to get Mildred to the hospital. An excited Strawn was taking a video of his daughter lying in the back seat of the car and he was driving at the same time. Strawn lost control of the car when he swerved to avoid the same black panther from being run over, and the vehicle tumbled and ended up in a car crash. Strawn was too excited about the series of events leading to stealing the car, and he probably wanted to share these moments with Mildred’s mother after she came out of the coma.

Bookworm ended with Mildred and Strawn recovering from their injuries and her black pet cat purring next to her. The black cat by her side reminded her of the black panther, and she was glad to have spotted it. Strawn was delighted to be next to his daughter after an adventure of a lifetime. Turns out, the video that Strawn took before the accident captured the footage of the Canterbury Panther. This helped Mildred grab the cash prize. It was her father at the end of the day who was responsible for them winning the prize. An unexpected companion yet a delightful one.


Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.


 

 

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