Nancy Drew (2007)

Based on characters from the series of books by Carolyn Keene, this film follows the adventures of teenage sleuth Nancy Drew, as she investigates mysteries, seemingly unable to stop herself.

As the film opens, Nancy (Emma Roberts) has foiled yet another criminal plot, the robbery of a local church.

Her father, Carson (Tate Donovan) is an attorney, and has a short-term job he must do in California for a few months. He is taking Nancy with him - away from her friends and comrades-in-arms Ned (Max Thieriot), Bess (Amy Bruckner) and Georgie (Kay Panabaker) - and has made her promise that while they are away, she won’t investigate any crimes or mysteries, but will be just an average teenager, going to school, shopping, or hanging out with friends.

Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) and Ned (Max Thieriot).

At first, Nancy keeps her promise quite easily. But when it transpires that the very house they are living in houses - no pun intended - its very own mystery, the pull of he investigation is just too much for Nancy to bear.

The previous owner of the house, film star Dehlia Draycott (Laura Harring) died in mysterious circumstances, most probably murder, and Nancy cannot resist the urge to dig into whatever evidence or clues she can find.

But dealing with the slightly-odd caretaker of the property, John Leshing (Marshall Bell) is not going to be easy.

L-R: Ned (Max Thieriot), Nancy (Emma Roberts) and Corky (Josh Flitter).

The screenplay - written by director Andrew Fleming and Tiffany Paulsen - is decent enough. The various clues and methods of investigations are clever enough that you won’t solve the mystery too long before Nancy does (it doesn’t count as a spoiler to say that Nancy solves it, I’m sure you could have worked that much out at least). The characters are all just as you might remember from the books - if you read any, that is.

Ralph Sall’s original score is - in a word - adequate. Most of the motifs are, however, a little cliched; there is nothing particularly new or innovative about the music. The score does its job, however, highlighting and supporting the emotional and intense moments of the film.

The production design - by Tony Fanning - and costume design - by Jeffrey Kurland - are sensational, however. All the sets and locations are absolutely stunning, and transport the viewer into another world, the world of the characters and the story. The costumes, likewise, are all well-suited to the characters who don them, and suggest more to each and every character than just the surface-level portrayal.

Nancy (Emma Roberts) and her father Carson (Tate Donovan).

Speaking of surface-level portrayal, this pretty much sums up the performances of the cast, almost without exception. The characters, as they appear on-screen, are little more than cardboard cutouts of the characters from the books. None of the cast - with the singular exception of Emma Roberts - seem to have put any thought into their portrayal, or gone to a deeper level than a simple recitation of the dialogue.

Director Andrew Fleming has made a faithful adaptation here, but it is not a film to crow about by any standards. It was certainly an enjoyable experience to watch it, but I don’t think I’ll be carving out any time to watch it again.

6 out of 10.