Director Nick Hamm’s latest feature, Gigi & Nate, sees despair and misery convert to hope and joy in this based on a true story of human will and determination. After an innocent dive into a lake causes Nate Gibson to surrender to a near-fatal illness, he’s left to live a new life as a quadriplegic. Adapting to this new lifestyle seems close to impossible for the once outgoing and vivacious Nate. However, he soon meets his service animal Gigi — an intelligent and curious capuchin monkey — who lifts Nate’s spirit when all has seemed lost. Just as things seem to get better and hope embraces Nate once more, an animal rights activist group seeks to destroy their bond by separating them for good.
Gigi & Nate starts off as a sincere display of humanity and family amidst tragedy. Upon Nate’s untimely accident, an expected shift in human behavior and family dynamic becomes the focal point of the script. Indeed, the first act offers a compelling insight into how a tragedy can change an individual’s will to live and the corresponding ripple effect on loved ones. Yet, there are some problems with the way the narrative unfolds. Frequent glimpses into the operations of Nate's day-to-day are adequate, but it’s hard to understand what’s going on with him outside his physical impairments. Essentially, not enough time is spent on Nate’s psyche, but Hamm does just enough to enable viewers to infer about his mentality.
There’s an inherent struggle within the film that could potentially inhibit viewers from being able to connect to it emotionally. The pacing, for example, leaves much to be desired. Time jumps come abruptly and at moments in which the storytelling feels incomplete. Additionally, problems resolve as quickly as they form, which feels quite unrealistic in a film like this. To make matters worse, the narrative evolves from a simple and sweet one about handling an unforeseen tragedy and how that impacts family dynamics to one about real-life controversies. Hamm may have intended for Gigi & Nate to be a sincere story about human will, but it falls flat in execution as it doesn’t cater to its strengths.
About halfway through the feature, a clash between animal rights activists and the Gibson family erupts. The optics around this conflict are bizarre and calls into question the sincerity and truthfulness of these events. Were these moments genuinely “based on a true story” or were the incorporation of these scenes another Hollywood attempt at boosting the drama? The latter scenario isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. But in Gigi & Nate, it’s hard to tell if there’s even a stance on the issue from director Nick Hamm or screenwriter David Hudgins. Not to mention, it all comes so abruptly and escalates into situations that feel improbable and unnecessary.
Given the drastic change of tone in the film from its first act to the last, it’s difficult to say that Gigi & Nate works as a whole. Early in the film is a sincere display of human will and determination while the latter half opts for the drama by incorporating an important, albeit controversial, issue. While these issues are always welcomed on screen, it’s not entirely clear what Hudgins and Hamm are trying to say about the topic. It all feels contrived and doesn’t serve to advance the plot into one that grows naturally. There was a decent attempt to inspire, but by the film’s end, it feels exhausting and undermines the narrative.
In the end, Gigi & Nate is the kind of story that should have been rich in showcasing the good and bad of humanity. Whether that be through exploring mental abolition versus determination or even activism versus an individual’s special needs, Hamm’s latest had the potential to say a lot more than what was accomplished. Instead, he doesn’t do much with either, and he relies a little too heavily on his actors to take this uninspiring script towards sincerity. But despite their best efforts, even the cast can’t elevate this unkempt narrative into a refreshing tale of humanity and hope.
Gigi & Nate releases in theaters on September 2. The film is 114 minutes and rated PG-13 for some thematic material and language.