Movie Review: “Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg?”, Starring Bonnie Wright
The BFI London Film Festival begins on October 7, and a number of films set to be shown this year feature Harry Potter alumni. One of them premiering at the festival is Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg?, starring Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley).
The film takes place at a holiday park called Nelson’s Retreat, where squirrel mascot Nelson Nutmeg symbolizes the juvenile family activities that Shiv, Woody, Billie, and the Colonel are eager to leave behind. After sneaking out one night, Billie witnesses what she believes to be the scene of a crime: It looks like someone has killed Nelson Nutmeg. Not willing to give up on the park’s mascot just yet, the kids band together (along with Billie’s teenage brother, Swindon) to figure out who the culprit is.
In advance of Nelson Nutmeg‘s world premiere on October 10, we were fortunate enough to be able to watch the film and review it for our readers:
As the film begins, a group of kids aren’t at all enthused about the prospect of having to spend their time at Nelson’s Retreat in the company of the park’s mascot, Nelson Nutmeg. Determined to get into the adults-only disco that night, one among them, Billie, sneaks out to prove that she doesn’t need Nelson Nutmeg to have a good time. Fooling no one about her age, however, she is kicked out of the disco to walk back to the caravan where she is staying with her family. To Billie’s shock, she comes across a ghastly scene: Nelson Nutmeg ends up in an altercation and falls from the side of a cliff onto the beach below.
The next morning, when Billie tells her friends about what she saw, the film’s plot is set into motion. The adults don’t believe that Nelson Nutmeg might actually be dead, so it’s up to the kids to prove it. With their only evidence being Billie’s recorded video of what looks like Nelson’s head being thrown into a fire, the four begin their detective work, sneaking around the park for clues as to Nelson’s fate.
Once the kids realize that the adults who run the camp might know something, their prime suspect soon becomes Diane (Bonnie Wright), the park’s cold-hearted new manager. Determined to prove that it was she who got rid of the real Nelson (and hired “some guy in a suit” to take his place), their detective work intensifies.
With Bonnie Wright as the experienced actor on set, it would be easy to pass off the child actors on whose performances Nelson Nutmeg focuses. To do so, however, would be a disservice to these young talents, who truly bring the film’s heart. (Playing the Colonel is Hattie Gotobed, younger sister of actor Rohan Gotobed, who portrayed the young Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.)
In the vein of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, Shiv, Woody, Billie, and the Colonel show dogged perseverance, even as the odds become stacked against them. While a children’s film at its core, Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg? is thoroughly enjoyable for anyone, young or old. In the end, it shows that teamwork – and a little bit of ingenuity – can accomplish a lot and perhaps, even learn who killed Nelson Nutmeg.
Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg? will have its world premiere at Cineworld Haymarket on October 10, as part of the BFI London Film Festival. You can find more information on the film, as well as purchase tickets to its premiere, here.
Plus, take a look behind the scenes with Bonnie Wright below:
