Steve Coogan may have started off in stand-up comedy but has built a quite remarkable acting career in a variety of roles on the big and small screen - and more recently on the stage.
The last time I saw him was In Real Life as he played four roles in the excellent stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrik's Doctor Strangelove.
Now, here is he is, in this heartwarming and whimsical tale, playing an English teacher who befriends a penguin who helps change his outlook on life for the better.
The Penguin Lessons is based on the real-life adventure of Tom Michell, recalled in his 2015 memoir of the same name. Which, of course, makes the story even more compelling.
In the 1970s, while living in Argentina as a miliary junta takes over, 20-something Michell went on a jolly across the River Plate to Uruguay and found himself rescuing a stubborn little Magellanic penguin coated in oil.
He cleaned him up, named him Juan Salvador, and was forced to sneak his new pal across the border and into the posh boarding school where he was teaching English.
He has to hide the penguin as Jonathan Pryce's prim and proper headmaster discourages pets to the point of it being a sackable offence.
Coogan's version of Mitchell is much older and far less naive than the real one. He's cynical, and pretty much running away from life and disengaged from teaching. He's leading a rather numb existence.
Gradually, having to care for (and hide) the penguin melts Mitchell's cold heart. All the while, bombs explode and people disappear as the local populace battles with its insurgent army.
Ultimately, Coogan and the penguin are quite the double act here and it's a joy to watch them together.
On a side note, I can understand why some killjoys might feel offended by this story almost sidelining the horrors of the 1970s' military coup in Argentina.
But then I think of David Lean’s adaptation of Doctor Zhivago, a romantic drama played out to the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.
Not that I’d compare a penguin to Julie Christie, of course. But both films are love stories set in times of turmoil.
The Penguin Lessons will melt your heart. If you let it.
