A family-friendly adventure more suggestive of a theme park than a movie, filmmaker Jennifer Flackett's Nim's Island—based on the YA novel by Wendy Orr—features an exotic setting, improbable characters, and delirious plot twists, but also offers comforting messages about love, courage, and self-reliance. Although Oscar-winner Jodie Foster is the cast's biggest star, she's not really the film's focal point—that distinction belongs to Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), whose tomboyish young Nim lives with her botanist father (Gerard Butler) on a deserted volcanic island with sea lions, lizards, and pelicans as her only playmates. When her dad is lost at sea, Nim e-mails the one person most qualified to help: rugged adventurer Alex Rover, whose thrill-packed books she reads avidly. Trouble is, “Alex” is really Alexandra (Foster), an agoraphobic writer holed up in her San Francisco apartment, afraid even to go outside for her mail. In an interesting conceit, Butler also plays Alexandra's Indiana Jones-like hero, who lives in her imagination and offers sage advice when she finally motivates herself to help Nim. Foster overplays her role, injecting too much slapstick into the proceedings, but Breslin delivers a skillful, assured performance, stealing the film from her two vastly more experienced costars. Recommended, overall. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one by costars Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin; the other by directors/writers Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett), three deleted scenes (16 min.), an “Abigail's Journey” featurette (7 min.), “Nim's Friends” (6 min.) and “Working on Water” (6 min.) production featurettes, PSAs, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the “Nim's Spyglass” picture-in-picture bonus view mode, an “Explorer Mode” trivia track, and three games. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a decent family film.] (E. Hulse)
Nim's Island
Fox, 96 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.98, Aug. 5 Volume 23, Issue 3
Nim's Island
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