Nim's Island, a well crafted fantasy adventure film, is the story of 11 year-old Nim, who lives on a beautiful desert Island in the middle of nowhere, with only her father.
When he goes missing at sea, Nim reaches out to her literary hero, action adventurer, Alex Rover. Little does Nim know that her fictional hero is authored by the reclusive writer Alexandra Rover; who is too afraid to leave her San Francisco apartment.
This is a whimsical tale about courage, love and the power of imagination.
Abigail Breslin as Nim and Jodie Foster as the hapless writer Alexandra Rover are really terrific. Breslin is such a joy to watch, drawing you into Nim’s world and Foster’s neurotic comedy turn, light years away from her more serious roles, is marvellous.
Directed by husband and wife team Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett and based on the popular children’s book by Wendy Orr, Nim’s Island is glorious to look at and great fun.
With the exception of a couple of clichéd moments, the story is well told and seamless and certainly not dumbed down for the kids.
I also enjoy watching a film that isn’t swamped in CGI; allowing characters, their relationships and plot to do the work, rather than dazzling an audience with effects.
Nim’s Island doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is, a classic children’s adventure film, but one that will have all the little girls wanting to be Nim.
This is a perfect holiday film for the kids and it is not half bad for the parents either.
