Review of Project Nim (2011) by Tyler M — 10 Dec 2011
Normally I'm not one to sit down and watch documentaries, but this one enthralled me to watch it, and I'm called I did.
In the 70s, a test was done to see what would happen when a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky was taken from his mother at birth and raised like a human child. Would they regain the speech and communication like a real human? Though the early tests seem positive, the group of caregivers behind Nim soon find out that he's a force to be reckoned with when Nim's life takes a turn for the worse.
Documentaries have gained lots of interest in me over the years. From my favorite doc, An Inconvenient Truth which detailed the recent Global Warming problem to Super Size Me, about a diet of fast food to The Cove which showed whale slaughtering in Japan, it's always interesting to see a real well made well thought up documentary.
In this case, rather than going to the scientific reasoning behind the evolutionary theory, director James Marsh (who won an Oscar for his other doc "Man on Wire") decided to play the emotional side of the story, detailing how cruel and dark humans are and how animals do indeed have feelings and emotions. This was IMO a smart move. We've seen the whole evolutionary details in several docs/T.V. specials in the past and if added into this movie it would've fallen flat and dull.
If you love documentaries, I recommend this. If you are not doc-crazy like me, you'd be pleasantly surprised at how in-depth, emotional, and interesting this doc is.
The Oscar for Best Documentary Feature is Nim's to lose.
FINAL VERDICT: 84%.
This review of Project Nim (2011) was written by Tyler M on 10 Dec 2011.
Project Nim has generally received very positive reviews.
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