IMDb > Ellen Foster (1997) (TV)

Ellen Foster (1997) (TV) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   196 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Kaye Gibbons (novel)
Maria Nation (teleplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Ellen Foster on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 December 1997 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
After her mother's death, a young girl is separated from her abusive father and is sent between her various friends and relatives, always longing to find a place to call home. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 4 nominations more
User Comments:
A great and moving performance more (11 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Julie Harris ... Leonora Nelson

Jena Malone ... Ellen Foster

Ted Levine ... Bill Hammond

Glynnis O'Connor ... Charlotte Nelson Hammond
Debra Monk ... Aunt Nadine

Barbara Garrick ... Aunt Betsy
Kate Burton ... Abigail
Zeljko Ivanek ... Chief Inspector
Lynne Moody ... Mrs. Douglas

Bill Nunn ... Mr. Douglas

Dick O'Neill

Amanda Peet ... Julia Hobbs

Timothy Olyphant ... Roy Hobbs

Kimberly J. Brown ... Dora
Allison Jones ... Starletta Douglas
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some abusive treatment of a child.
Runtime:
Israel:94 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Soundtrack:
Remember (Christmas) more

FAQ

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
A great and moving performance, 30 August 1999
10/10
Author: Watcher-37 from East Coast US

Ellen Foster is the story of a 10 year old girl desperately searching for a true family to call her own. When her mother dies she is left with her father until taken away when the school learns he hits her. She stays with a teacher who volunteers to take her in and who gives her a taste of what a happy family could be like. This ends when her harridan of a grandmother lies in court by telling the judge that she wants custody. Turns out she just wants cheap slave labor, and she goes so far as to tell Ellen that she intends on making her pay for the death of her mother, though Ellen had nothing to do with anything that the father did to her. Soon the grandmother has a stroke and then dies. She is taken in by one of her aunts who is nicer than the grandmother but only on the surface. Ellen's cousin despises her and this situation soon leads to a fight that has Ellen leaving the house on Christmas Day to go to The Foster house. She thinks that the home is a family named Foster, but it is a woman who takes in girls that are unwanted or orphaned. Jena Malone as in her previous film, Bastard Out of Carolina, stars as the abused child, but rather than seem like the pedestrian movie of the week, it is a standout performance. She may still be considered a child actress, but it is very hard not to notice that she's got some great acting chops.

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