Nell (1994)

In a remote woodland cabin, a small town doctor discovers Nell - a beautiful young hermit woman with many secrets.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Mark Handley (play), William Nicholson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Nell
Liam Neeson	...	Jerome Lovell
Natasha Richardson	...	Paula Olsen
Richard Libertini	...	Alexander Paley
Nick Searcy	...	Todd Peterson
Robin Mullins	...	Mary Peterson
Jeremy Davies	...	Billy Fisher
O'Neal Compton	...	Don Fontana
Heather M. Bomba	...	Twin #1
Marianne E. Bomba	...	Twin #2
Sean Bridgers	...	Mike Ibarra
Joe Inscoe	...	Judge
Stephanie Dawn Wood	...	Ruthie Lovell
Mary Lynn Riner	...	Janet Baring
Lucile McIntyre	...	Sally

Storyline

Nell is a girl who's been brought up in an isolated world. The only people she knew were her mother and twin sister. They lived together in a cottage in the forest. Nobody has ever met Nell. After her mother's death, she's discovered by the local doctor Jerome. He's fascinated by her, since she speaks a mangled language, developed by her sister and herself growing up, "twin speak" if you will. But Paula, a psychology student, wants her observed in a laboratory. The judge decides they get three months to observe her in the forest, after which he'll decide about Nell's future.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | twin | psychology | woman | north carolina | 

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Taglines:

Language beyond understanding Life beyond words... Discover...

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nell

Filming Locations:

601 N Tryon St, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$33,683,817

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$106,683,817

Company Credits

Production Co:

Egg Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited) DTS-Stereo (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jodie Foster originally planned to direct the film herself, but turned it over to Michael Apted instead.

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Goofs

(at around 12 mins) Nell swims in the nude, but when on the shore and dancing, she has on underwear.

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Quotes

Jerry: 'Missa' - little. 'Erna' - big.
Paula: Tata?
Jerry: 'Tata'. Potalto. Just kidding. Frightened. 'Tata' - frightened. 'T'ee' - tree.

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

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Soundtracks

CRAZY
Written by Willie Nelson
Performed by Patsy Cline
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

What a charming movie

This film really surprised me, because it was really good. But it mostly surprised me, because I read here that this would be a drama and I must say I disagree. Drama stands for sadness and melancholy, whereas this film stood for humanism. 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 know this might sound strange, but I see this film as a metaphor for human behavior. We reject what is not like us (race, religion, gender, sexual preference, skin color and so on) and think those people ought to be like us, because they are not ‘normal'. Well you tell me who is more normal: Nell or the people who want to put her away; Nell or the journalists; Nell or the boys in the bar? I will tell you: Nell, Nell and Nell. I can recommend this film to everyone and I hereby want to thank all people involved and especially Jodie Foster for her great performance.

7,5 out of 10