Here, the movie decided to define Nancy as someone who was in River Heights under protest, her home town was Chicago, and that she was as much lashing out at the situation, as she was dealing with boredom. That she is intelligent, brave, and righteous is a less than ideal mixture when one wishes she’d just fit in … and naturally, her inclination towards protecting friends by retaliating against their attackers lands her in trouble with the law.
I found this an interesting take, and certainly it isn’t out of character for Nancy Drew, but it is something that other versions tended to ignore. Likewise, the movie delves a bit more into the death of Nancy’s mother, and the effect it had on the family – something else not really explored in the books – including Dad’s insistence of being in constant contact with his daughter.
So, I give them full marks for actually contributing something more to Nancy’s character and background than just an unfolding mystery.
Likewise, they updated the setting so it is contemporary, along with the contemporary high school social tropes of the in-crowd (centered around the scions of wealth and privilege within town), the nerds (who flock to Nancy); along with the redemption of the mean-girl. Then also, there’s the focus on the small town, with a 2-man sheriff’s department, and the ongoing debate over whether or not they want a train to run through River Heights (Dad says no, Auntie says yes, who is right? Hard to say).
Nancy remains observant, very intelligent, and bold; but also can jump to the wrong conclusions, and can be derailed when her father goes missing. In which case, yes, Nancy needs her friends to pursue other lines of investigation on their own, as well as give her support so she can get her mind back in the game.
Finally, the scope of the mystery, and the goals of the villains, was very much in keeping with Nancy Drew (so, no murders).
All in all, I say this is a film worth checking out for Nancy Drew fans.
/s/
Gloriosus
the G-man Himself
Edited by G-man, 29 May 2019 - 09:23 PM.