KEY POINTS:
Nim's Island
Herald Rating: * *
Cast: Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin
Director: Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Running Time: 96 mins
Rating: PG (some scenes may scare very young children)
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley Cinemas
Verdict: A good, old-fashioned, imaginative story that's poorly executed.
Nim's Island the book is the perfect holiday fodder for kids whose imaginations turn back gardens into deserted islands, where their best friends are a collection of friendly animals, there is no school, and there are plenty of adventures to be had.
But Nim's Island the film is a family adventure that unfortunately ends up being part feature and part telemovie. Nim (Abigail Breslin) is a young girl who lives with her marine scientist father Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler) on a remote island somewhere in the Cooks. It's an idyllic spot that no one else inhabits - and that's the way Nim and her father like it. They share their tree-house-like home with Nim's friends, a collection of friendly animals including a farting sea lion, a snarling iguana, a helpful albatross and a turtle.
Late one afternoon, Jack heads out to search for some rare plankton on a nearby atoll, leaving Nim at home alone. Only he is caught in a storm and finds himself on a sinking boat circled by sharks, and with no satellite phone.
Nim fares the storm a little better and expects Dad to arrive home, as scheduled. Checking her father's emails, she is stunned to discover a message from her fictional hero, the greatest adventurer that ever lived, Alex Rover.
Alex Rover is, in fact, Alexandra Rover (Foster), an agoraphobic San Franciscan author of the world famous Alex Rover novels, who is researching living on an island with a volcano. Over the next few days' correspondence, Alexandra works out that Nim is not Jack's research assistant but his young daughter, alone on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Determined to face her own fears, she leaves her apartment for the first time in weeks and heads to the South Pacific to help Nim find her father. Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is no doubt the new Dakota Fanning. A young actress whose maturity on camera can outshine her adult co-stars, and she's definitely the heart and soul of this film. While it's nice seeing former child star Foster in a more lighthearted role, the repetitive slapstick routines don't really suit her - the harder she tries to be funny, the less funny it is.
Scottish actor Gerard Butler (PS: I Love You) plays both Nim's father and the fictional adventurer Alex Rover, and although he puts in a charming performance, he looks silly as well. It doesn't help that it appears his yacht is moored in a large pool.
On paper this story sounds cool, but thanks to clumsy direction, distracting sub-plots and less-than-believable special effects, the film adaptation is too implausible. It's a shame, as it should be a heart-warming, fun, family film.
