Nell
Tags: psychological

Plot synopsis:
When stroke victim Violet Kellty dies in her isolated cabin in the North Carolina mountains, Dr. Jerome "Jerry" Lovell, the town doctor, finds a terrified young woman hiding in the house rafters. She speaks angrily and rapidly, but seems to have a language of her own. Looking at Violet's Bible, Jerry finds a note asking whoever finds it to look after Violet's daughter Nell. Sheriff Todd Peterson shows Jerry a news clipping that Nell was conceived through rape.
Jerry seeks the help of Dr. Paula Olsen, a researcher working with autistic children. Paula and her colleague Dr. Alexander "Al" Paley are interested in studying a "wild child" (feral child), and Al continues calling Nell this even after studying films showing that Nell does not fit the "wild child" profile. Paula and Al get a court order to institutionalize Nell for further study. Jerry hires lawyer Don Fontana and prevents it. The judge gives Jerry and Paula three months to interact with Nell and discover her needs. Paula shows up on a houseboat with electronic equipment to monitor Nell's behavior while Jerry chooses to stay in Nell's cabin and quietly observe.
Paula discovers that Nell's seemingly indecipherable language is English, based partly on her mother's aphasic speech after a stroke, and partly on the secret language she shared with her decades-deceased identical twin sister. Jerry and Paula begin a grudging friendship.
Nell sleeps during the day or works inside her home and is active outdoors only after sunset. She explains to Jerry that her mother told her about the rape and warned her that men were evildoers. As Nell comes to trust Jerry, she sees him as a friend, the "gah'inja" her mother promised would come. Jerry later realizes that "gah'inja" is Nell's phrase for "guardian angel." Using popcorn as an incentive, Jerry is able to lead Nell outside and into the sun. Nell leads Jerry and Paula to the decayed remains of her identical twin sister, May, who died in a fall while the two were playing in the woods.
Mike Ibarra, a reporter, learns of Nell's existence and visits her cabin. Nell is curious of the visitor at first, but when he snaps a photo, the flash frightens Nell. Jerry arrives and throws the reporter out. Paula believes that Nell would be safer in a hospital, while Jerry feels that Nell should be left alone and allowed to live as she pleases. The two decide that Nell should be shown a little of the world, and they make the decision to bring Nell into town.
While in town, Nell befriends Mary, Todd's depressed wife, but also encounters some raunchy boys in a pool hall until Jerry gets her out. With increased intrusion by the press, Jerry and Paula take Nell to a hospital for her protection. There, Nell becomes extremely despondent and unresponsive. Jerry removes her from the hospital and hides her in a hotel. Paula joins him, and the two admit that they love each other.
At the court hearing the next day, Al, who wants to study Nell in a controlled environment, delivers his opinion that Nell has Asperger syndrome and belongs in an institution. Nell then comes forward and, with Jerry interpreting, speaks for herself. Five years later, Jerry and Paula bring their daughter, Ruthie, to visit Nell in her house. It is Nell's birthday, and friends surround her.

Review: The most outstanding feature of the film is Jodie Foster's performance in the title role- a remarkable one even by the standards of this talented actress.
Throughout the film Foster speaks only in Nell's unearthly-sounding private language, but is able to use this, together with gestures and facial expressions, to convey a full range of emotions.
This means that Jerry and Paula play key roles in the film; fortunately, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson both play their parts very well, although in a more understated manner than Foster.
Some have taken exception to the brief scenes of nudity, but the purpose of these is not eroticism, but rather to demonstrate Nell's innocence.Another criticism which I have seen made of this film, both on this board and elsewhere, is that it is pushing a trite or simplistic 'message', normally along the lines of 'nature is better than civilization' or 'ignorance is bliss'.
At the very end of the movie, the emotion of the moment that Jodie's character feels towards the scene with the little girl reminding her of her lost sister is enough to make Jodie herself cry and wipe away a tear.
I mean Nell is basically as happy as can be and who are we (the people in the film) to tell her that her way of life is not good?
I can recommend this film to everyone and I hereby want to thank all people involved and especially Jodie Foster for her great performance.
Having never seen this film before, I "stumbled" on to it this morning about 10 minutes after it started on A&E and was so mesmerized that I watched the whole movie, and really liked it!
It is well acted (Jodie Foster is INCREDIBLE), as is Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson, and it's just an all around GOOD movie.
Simply about a woman raised in the wild, unable to speak proper english due to her mothers stroke and she is trying to be brought into "civilisation".Neeson and Foster are the stars of this film!!
Jodie Foster's performance as Nell made an almost incredible character totally believable.
Jodie Foster gave such character, life and believability to Nell that I don't think anyone else could have gave any better; she is truly spectacular and deserved that Oscar nomination, maybe even the win.
The characters are well done and really likable for the performances and screenplay behind them so you actually care for them, which is what more movies need to try and do; make you care for the characters.Like I said, Nell is dramatic to the point where it's painful, in a good way, sort of, to watch this woman's innocent, undisturbed life play out and unfold, and you wish for anything that you can just make everyone see her point of view and you really hope everything pulls through for this brilliant character in the end.
The cinematography is excellent also and I found myself completely caught up in how awe-inspiring everything in the movie is at times, whether it's the cinematography, characters or story, which the story is absolutely gripping and fascinating, if you have not caught that by now.Nell seems to be a really overlooked film because most people do not see it for it's full potential of delight and cleverness.
Young woman named Nell, raised in total isolation in the backwoods of North Carolina by her mother (who had suffered strokes before her death and inadvertently taught her daughter an idiosyncratic form of English) is discovered by a well-meaning doctor who hopes to understand her; unfortunately, other doctors with eyes on their careers get involved and, figuring Nell to be a mentally backward wild child, bring science into the equation.
Intrinsically, the film is about how civilization corrupts our innate innocence, yet the movie is really a bit condescending to the medical profession to suggest today's scientists (and journalists) are only interested in basic assimilation and not the human spirit.
Jodie Foster tries desperately to gimp her way to an Academy Award, and surprisingly, it didn't work (unlike Dustin Hoffman's one-note performance in Rain Man or Al Pacino's self-parody in Scent of a Woman).
Jodie Foster is a great actress, and she succeeds in making Nell into a fascinating woman.
Jodie Foster stars in this popular film about a woman discovered in the woods of Carolina having not know civilization as commonly known.Of course, the ones who found her, Neeson and Richardson, want to take care of her and show her the new world, while their colleagues and other government people as exposed as "bad guys" and want to exlpoit her.
You want to make a movie about hillbillies in NC, then just go into the woods and film an average family in those hills, you don't need to drag Jodie Foster in with 25 makeup artists to hide blemishes.
It's about people, their life experiences, and how they deal with and are shaped by those experiences.It's interestingI've read a number of reviews of 'Nell', and the mixed reactions it's gotten for the last 20 years tell me that sometimes even highly intelligent people can see a movie and yet not really see it.
Watching Jodi Foster in the very last scene of the moviemaybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but wow.
And I am actually quite happy that I did buy it from Amazon, because this movie is more than good."Nell" is a really beautiful story that will have you swept away and have you immersed into the story in no time.
"Nell" tells a story of being human, accepting people for what and whom they are, it is a story of existence, but most importantly it is a story of the heart.I think this was actually the first or second movie I watched with Liam Neeson (playing Jerome Lovell) in it, and to this day, I still think this is his best and most memorable performance.
Jodie Foster (playing Nell) is nothing short of extraordinary in this movie.
And the way Jodie Foster portrays Nell when exposed to the world and the life we take for granted is really good acting and amazing performing.
And you might want to keep some tissues at hand, because the story is really touching, and really helped so greatly along by Jodie Foster.I know that I will be watching this movie again at some point, even though the story doesn't hold surprising twists and such, it is one that can bear being watched more than once..
The 1994 film, "Nell", is an acting triumph for Jodie Foster.
Jodie Foster was truly robbed of an Oscar on this one: she excels like no other performance I've seen in years.
The only prize that the usually excellent Jodie Foster deserved for her performance in the God-awful "Nell" was a Booby Prize, not an Oscar nomination.
Normally I love Jodie Foster, but this film is a total misfire that is little more than a gender reversal on Forrest Gump.
Foster plays an uneducated backwoods woman, who is "discovered" following the death of her guardian and becomes the cause celebre for dueling medicos Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson, who debate about whether she should be institutionalized or allowed to remain in isolation.
It is a potentially interesting story, but it goes south once one realizes that the film is infinitely more interested in utilizing Nell as some sort of wise-beyond-her-years E.T., who will ultimately bring everyone around her together, rather than examining the world from her perspective.
Jodie Foster does a great job acting in this movie.
Where on the box does it say based on a true story?I didn't see it.If anyone can find that,Please E-mail me and let me know and who is to say that it can never happen.Jodie Foster made me believe, in that movie, that Nell was real and I was ready to go to that bar and fight those boys myself and anyone else that had bad intentions towards Nell.A must see movie for anyone that is human and has feelings.Please, do not read between the lines in this movie and make up something that is not true.Read the back of the vhs,laserdisc,or dvd before watching this movie and please, remember to get a box of tissues.This movie should be rated more than a 10 because Jodie Foster gave 200% in this movie..
Town doctor Jerry Lovell (Liam Neeson) and Sheriff Todd Peterson (Nick Searcy) find a young woman (Jodie Foster) living in the house speaking her own language.
However her language hides the fact that she had a twin once.The movie navigates some interesting matters like Nell's sexuality but handles it without much depth.
Firstly, if you are a fan of either Jodie Foster or Liam Neeson, you must not miss this movie.
In "Nell", Jodie Foster gives, arguably, the best performance of her life.
Clearly, she invested deeply in the role and her genuine strength and inner beauty shine so brightly into the character that Nell's beauty and loneliness become completely convincing.The story is more idealistic than realistic (as allegories are wont to be) which is worth remembering throughout - not least when it comes to the courtroom scene.
I appreciated the sentiment of that scene whilst privately wishing it had been a closed hearing (full for a custody hearing?) Despite some ragged plot problems (that USGS wouldn't know about the Kellty homestead, that Nell is in really good health, that the lads who deliver her groceries never appear to discuss the 'strange hermit woman' with anyone, and so on) the story staggers to the finish line with an overly idyllic ending.Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson support well locking horns convincingly over which was to become Nell's champion until they realised that Nell wasn't a trophy for an academic white paper.
Nell becomes the adopted child, the glue that binds Neeson and Richardson's characters' emotional attachment.The film has some poetic cinematography and good location.
Nell (Jodie Foster) is a young woman raised by her mother in a setting completely cut off from civilization.
The movie does a great job of developing the relationship between Nell and Lovell (and then also Olson) in a sensitive way, as both begin to care for Nell and want to be protective of her and her rights to choose.
I believe that Jodie Foster did a terrific job in "Nell."  The movie was very believable, and she acted her part better that any other of her movies because playing Nell is difficult.
Her partners as Liam Neeson and his wife, got a good place in the movie, trying to understand the language of Nell.
The character of Nell, based on a real person, is a woman who was raised in the woods and has developed a language all her own.
For Liam Neeson's character, his motives are on behalf of human compassion and a desire to learn Nell's ways.This movie is held together by the interests of Dr. Lovell to keep Nell in her own environment, and Paula who also wants to interpret Nell's behavior but from a more scientific perspective.
It also made me look around at what we call as this world and who is truly crazy.Nell is the main character who is just so sympathetic and lovable, she has never seen the outside world of buildings, cars, people(besides her mother who unfortunately passes away), and technology of any kind.
Closing i would really like to congratulate all the cast of the film and especially Jodie Foster for her excellent performance in a very demanding role.
Although Jodie Foster is as always a joy to look at the film disappoints in more ways than one.
Liam Neeson plays the conflicted caring scientist well- The language, movements and clarity of conviction Foster brought to the movie is nonpareil...
"Nell" - more then movie, Jodie - more then actress !!!.
"Nell" - more than a movie, Jodie Foster - more than an actress !!!
We want that side of us to remain private and untouched by the outside world.Oscar winner Liam Neeson (Schindler's List)  Jerome Lovell, is left to care for Nell.
It´s a deeply moving story about how, even after living in isolation for all one´s life, one still is a human being.The performance of Jodie Foster is unbelievable - no-one could have done it better..
Like the free spirit in the true dreamer, spiritual beauty Nell (Jodie Foster) walks onto the rocks, surrounded by a beautiful clear blue lake.
"Nell" doesn't exactly do this, but considering how badly the film's second half is mishandled, that would have been at least a little better.A woman has died,, and when called to the scene to declare her dead, a local doctor named Jerry Lovell (Liam Neeson) makes a startling discovery: there's another woman living there, but she doesn't seem to be normal.
Liam Neeson does what he can in an underwritten role, but Natasha Richardson is especially good as the lively scientist.I really can't recommend the film at all.
Excellent movie it's worth watching big thumbs up to Jodie and the cast i really enjoyed it bought the DVD 3 days later and watched it again Ti's movie makes me feel good gives me a warm feeling inside and i bet everyone that views it Will feel the same way if you like it or hate it i think the movie rocks the greatest acting from Jodie Foster i have ever seen and Liam Neeson Jodie Foster is grand as Nell just so sad it only gets so Little points and ratings while it deserves allot better as i said great acting no best acting i have ever seen i personally love the scene were Jerry takes Nell out of the hospital and just runs like the wind just awesome.
Not really a movie about Jodie Foster (Nell), but about Liam Neeson.This movie shows us that society is just what we make of it.
Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson play a couple of doctors who discover a wild child named Nell, a woman who's grown up completely isolated from human contact, and who as a result has developed her own language, mode of communication, etc.I can understand what drew Jodie Foster to the role of Nell, because on paper it's a serious actress's wet dream.
I expect more from the movie and the only good performance was from Jodie Foster, but the language they choose for her to perform is really annoying and difficult to watch until the end, but I did just to write this review.
Jodie Foster 'was' Nell and then some, she was brilliant.
Jodie Foster's Oscar-nominated performance is the real attraction in this film that wants so desperately to be excellent, but never quite reaches its goal.
Jodie Foster and the tension build up by the story actually makes it worthwhile to view this movie.
I thought it was a great movie and Jodie Foster had to learn alot to portray (Nell).
This takes time and attention away from the fascinating core story and the superb performance by Jodie Foster.The story begins with the discovery that a reclusive old woman has died and has left a grown daughter alone in their remote cabin.
Her interactions with Neeson's and Richardson's characters are often complex and traumatic enough to keep the film moving in the absence of the other, extraneous, elements.Had the movie concentrated more intently on this interaction and devoted more time to it, which is really the whole point of the film, or had it done a better and more original job of expanding it's vision during it's adaptation to film (those parts involving the sheriff's wife showed unexploited potential), 'Nell' could have been a great film.
So overall, despite its flaws, 'Nell' is a good film with many fascinating elements and an excellent performance by Jodie Foster.
For, make no mistake, the quality of Jodie Foster's performance is such that Nell becomes absolutely real, and the audience is intrigued at discovering the explanation for her strange development, and dreadfully, dreadfully worried about what will happen to her.Others have written much better informed and more thoughtful reviews about this film - I will just say that I thought it was an excellent film, and so did my family..
Mixed drama with Jodie Foster as a "wild woman", living for many years with her disabled mother deep in the woods, who is discovered by Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson.
Its a testament to Michael Apted's smooth direction and smart screenplay by Mark Handley and William Nicholson that these occasional illogicities don't completely capsize the film.But more importantly its Jodie Foster's vibrant, spirited performance that carries the entire movie.
I like the way they've sketched a whole life story for Nell.
Jodie Foster is a wonderful actor as is Liam Nesson but this film stunk.
Foster plays a woman that goes by the name of Nell that was left alone in a shack in the woods with her twin sister.
On some scene in this movie, Nell has braided hair, she can also work with the woods outside the house, she wears a cloth just like a normal women.
How can anyone live like this, they both look around the small house and Jerry comes across Nell.
Nell has progressed remarkably; she will never forget Paula; and her Guardian Angel-Jerry.This movie is excellent, one of Jodie Foster's best.
But the reality that Jodie Foster exudes in her performance really made me wish I had discovered this film when it first came out.
This woman, Nell Kellty (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Jodie Foster), does act normal in some ways, e.g. swimming, collecting wood, but she still needs to learn to be calm and speak proper English, she backwards or something.
He looked like he really wanted to pack up his stuff and moved into Nell's cabin.I like Jodie Foster for taking on these difficult acting roles, and not just out to make sequels to Silence of the Lambs.