Project Nim
Seen it?2011 | 93 min | Documentary
Sunday Safe Betearly ratingWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
Critics loved it (97% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had almost no lasting buzz and soft box office. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 33 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG-13. Probably too much for younger kids.
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 83 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
6.9 out of 10
- AwardsSolid
Won 1 DGA Award: Outstanding Directing – Documentaries. Also nominated for 1 BAFTA. Plus 1 other award.
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 10K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by James Marsh
- Bob AngeliniLab Tech
- Bern CohenDr. William Lemmon
- Reagan LeonardStephanie LaFarge
- Nim ChimpskySelf (archive footage)
- Stephanie LaFargeSelf
- Herbert TerraceSelf
- Wer LaFargeSelf (archive footage)
- Jenny LeeSelf
- Laura-Ann PetittoSelf
- Bill TynanSelf