Talkwards

Nim’s Island (2008) is about Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin), a young girl who lives on an isolated island with her scientist father, Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler), and how she comes into contact with the author of her favorite novels, Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster). When Nim’s father is lost in a storm and the island is invaded by buccaneers Nim calls on her hero Alex Rover to come to her aid. Little does she know Alex is Alexandra, and Alexandra is far from a hero. She has issues of her own to deal with, agoraphobia for one.

You can read the rest of this review by clicking the link below, however there are spoilers in that text so beware if you have not yet seen the movie.

One of the more prominent themes in Nim’s Island is security. Being secure, challenging ones sense of security to expand ones safe zone, and to go on even when security is wobbly or not even there.

Nim is faced with a challenge when her father is lost at sea in a storm, the storm wrecks havoc on their home, and buccaneers arrive at the island and talks about exploiting it and bringing tourists to it (even though they turn out to be nothing more than a cruise line called buccaneer cruises). Part of Nim’s sense of security is that the island is kept secret. Even though that sense may have been something her father taught her.

Nim has to fight for her freedom and security, and the serenity of the island by arranging several threats to the tourists arriving at the beach. Everything from a rain of lizards to a volcanic eruption (even though that one is a fake). However, when she bumps into Edmund, a boy her own age and one of the tourists, she is surprised to realize the buccaneers are far from what she thought. If Nim regrets having forced them off the island or not remains untold, but her initial feeling that tourists on the island would be a bad thing is, as far as can be told from the behavior of said tourists, probably true.

Alexandra is faced with a challenge as well. What begins as a curious inquiry into the nature of volcanoes ends with her having to take the trip from Los Angeles to Indonesia in order to help Nim. And Alexandra Rover haven’t been out her door in six weeks due to agoraphobia (fear of people). Not that the movie centers on her phobia, but it is clear she is far from delighted when presented with one challenge after another (small wobbly domestic airplane, even smaller wobblier motorboat, being forced to jump into the water reaching well above her waist and wade ashore, or take a trip with a helicopter — one of the world’s most dangerous means of transportation in her opinion).

Alexandra Rover, and the hero she writes about in her books, Alex Rover is a classic case of reaction formation, be it a comically exaggerated one. The relationship between Alex and Alexandra is also the safety blanked Alexandra has the hardest time to let go of. Before she can even start rescuing Nim, Alex bids her farewell and disappears, leaving Alexandra alone to face the challenges of a life in the middle of nowhere with a young injured girl depending on her for rescue.

Of course there is seldom a challenge without a reward. In Alexandra’s case the reward is obvious, not only has she, as any cognitive psychologist would tell you, started working on her phobia with very good results, she also finds in Nim’s father the real Alex Rider she’s been writing about — the fact that Nim’s father and Alex Rider is played by the same actor reinforces that impression. In Nim’s case the reward is also rather obvious. In attracting Alexandra to the island she is not only giving her father a new girlfriend, she is also doubling up on what she lacked so sorely when her father was lost at sea; parents.

Nim’s island also explores the theme of man versus nature. How the buccaneers come to the island to exploit, just to be scared off the island again by a fake volcano eruption (or is it a minor tremble?). Without stretching the interpretation too far one might ask if nature did not had a hand in the way the volcano eruption, initially arranged by Nim, gets extra potency when followed by a real rumble and mudslide on the volcanoes side. Nim’s father, being far more in tune with nature is definitely being treated to movie magic when one of the islands friendly seagulls provides him with fish, and a toolbox with which he can repair his sinking boat (!). The nature theme seems to have an ecological tint, saying if we play nice with nature, nature plays nice with us.

Another theme in the movie is the father-daughter and mother-daughter relationships. Nim lost her mother a long time ago, and when Alexandra arrives she is initially angry, even scared, of the fact that she is a woman. Perhaps she fears her relationship with her father might get hurt by the presence of a woman, or that Alexandra will steal the place of her mother. Soon however she accepts Alexandra, and even though their relationship is glazed over, we get the impression on a whole it turns out well. Nim’s relation to her father also leaves an impression on her. She has developed into a tomboy, probably a result of being brought up by a father — if there ever was such a thing as a tomboy or girlish-boy for that matter, so much of our perception of gender is part of cultural conditioning, and even though a gender discussion is far from a theme in the movie the discussion of whether Nim is different from other girls because she is living with her father or not, and if it harms her or not, is a very discussion in this day and age.

Speaking of child-parent relations, and considering that this is a Walt Disney family movie, the theme of the nuclear family also comes up. Nim is in trouble when her father obviously fails to be around, and even though he is lost at sea, we may interpret that in some way it is his fault Nim is alone. He can be blamed for not having provided Nim with a mother, if one wishes to dole out blame. The possibility to do so is certainly present. I am usually not overly keen on simple old-time-morals propaganda, and even though the theme comes up in this movie it is subtle enough not to take from the over all experience. I give Nim’s Island a 3 of 5.