(DVD Gigi)
This 2022 film is a heavily-fictionalized telling of a real-life story. Nate Gibson is a vibrant, athletic young man, preparing to enter college and looking forward to his future. Then a freakish incident occurs at the lake near his family country summer cottage, in which he contracts Meningitis from the late water, and a delay in seeking treatment leaves him mostly-paralyzed. Though he regains speech and some minimal movement in his arms, Nate is ill-equipped to rejoin mainstream society, and mostly lives at home, cared for by his mother and health-care workers.
When the opportunity get Nate a Service Animal presents itself, he is paired with Gigi, an intelligent and empathetic capuchin monkey (a rescue animal specially trained to provide assistance to the disabled). Though it takes a bit of time for Nate and Gigi to fully bond, eventually she becomes an extension of Nate, helping him to improve his muscular skills and assisting him in many other ways, improving the quality of his life in many ways.
However, when a strident animal rights activist targets Nate and his family for what they believe to be inappropriate treatment of a wild animal, the Gibsons must make some life-altering decisions.
The performances in this quiet little film are marvelous. Initially, I wasn’t thinking I would like the performance of Charlie Rowe as Nate, but he ended up doing a great job, as did Marcia Gay Harden and Jim Belushi as his parents. But it is Allie the monkey, a performing animal, as Gigi, who steals this show!
My only disappointment is how much was changed from the story of the actual people that inspired this in order to make this movie. But, still, Gigi & Nate was a heart-warming and inspiring film, and I still highly recommend it.
( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Gigi & Nate web site )
Recommended
by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
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