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He contracts sepsis after eating some out-of-date sausages which cause his immune system to overreact (yes I did my homework after the movie was over) and, upon returning home, immediately starts taking out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
