Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose
**This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.
I don’t know why I thought this was going to be some sort of biopic- or at least, something inspired by a true story- but I like how writer-director Adam Sigal treats it that way. He begins by setting context with regards to animals whom have made sounds that resemble that of human speech before bringing us in for an interview with Nandor Fodor (Simon Pegg), who is being interviewed by a reporter. He is a para-psychologist of Hungarian descent whom is told, by a colleague, of a strange occurrence on the Isle of Man. A British family claims to have contact with a strange individual…a talking mongoose. With his assistant Anne (Minnie Driver) in tow, he goes to investigate. What he experiences will shake him to his core.
Simon Pegg has shown himself to be a terrific character actor over the years; yes, he is best known for the “Mission: Impossible” films and his collaborations with Edgar Wright, but he’s also done great work for Steven Spielberg and the “Star Trek” franchise, along with some gems as a star or supporting character. While I enjoyed watching him play this outsized personality, someone who investigates the paranormal but is more skeptical until evidence shows him otherwise, the screenplay by Sigal doesn’t really find a balance in tone befitting what Pegg has to offer. The film wants to be a bit whimsical and light, but sometimes it also wants to play fairly serious, giving Fodor a startling moment of revelation, and the two don’t really mesh. Pegg does what he can, and I think he plays every moment correctly relative to the material, but because Sigal has baited the hook to be something more serious out of the gate, when he wants the film to be silly, I don’t believe it works.
This isn’t to say that “Nandor Fodor” isn’t without its charms, however. I like the chemistry between Pegg and Driver as his assistant, someone who respects Fodor, but also knows when he’s being more than a little obtuse. As Errol, Gary Beadle gives us a brief, but important role as the groundsman for the family who doesn’t believe for a second in a talking mongoose, but also understands the importance of people believing in such things. There’s handsome production values in this movie, and roles for Christopher Lloyd- as Fodor’s colleague, who’s investigated things for himself- and Neil Gaiman as Gef, the mongoose in question. If you like the actors, I think “Nandor Fodor” will make you smile, but I wouldn’t count on much more than that.
