Nell (1994)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Despite a committed performance by Jodie Foster, Nell opts for ponderous melodrama instead of engaging with the ethical dilemmas of socializing its titular wild child.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as Nell
as Jerome Lovell
as Paula Olsen
as Alexander Paley
as Todd Peterson
as Mary Peterson
as Billy Fisher
as Don Fontana
as Twin
as Twin
as Mike Ibarra
as Judge
as Ruthie Lovell
as Janet Baring
as Sally
as Harry Goppel
as Jean Malinowski
as Stevie
as Jed
as Shane
as Rachel Weiss
as Autistic Child
as Teacher
as Administrator
as Male Nurse
as Deputy
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Critic Reviews for Nell
All Critics (33) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (15) | DVD (2)
Nell is an effective film, and a moving one. That is largely because of the strange beauty of Jodie Foster's performance as Nell, and the warmth of the performance by Liam Neeson, as a doctor who finds himself somehow responsible for her.
All of this proves somewhat uplifting and, in the end, fairly moving. Under Apted's caring direction, Foster gives a fearless, appealing, utterly uninhibited performance throughout.
Stunningly awful on almost every level.
Somber, ponderous, and pretentious, this is a clinical study of a wild woman (Jodie Foster) raised in the backwoods, far from the interference and contamination (according to the film) of Civilization. It's better to see Truffaut's Wild Child.
Decent triumph over adversity movie. Nell has a unique disability.
Jodie Foster is totally immersing
Audience Reviews for Nell
How in the hell did Jodie Foster seriously get an Oscar nomination for this, possibly the weirdest film to ever be taken seriously on the public stage? I mean, I get the message of the film overall: the fact that those who are alternative don't stand a chance in a society that prides itself on revealing the hidden truths everywhere they may be hiding. Still, does anyone really want to stand up and say that Foster's performance as the nearly mute, and very animalistic Nell, is great, or even remotely realistic? She looks so hair brained, that a parody performance would be unrecognizable compared to this film. I mean seriously, in what universe is this okay? Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson make an interesting duo as the scientists who evaluate Nell, but besides that there is no sense, honesty, or truth in any of these performances. It's bland, while also being hyper animated with the feral yowls of its lead, and the strange fight for privacy that stirs the story. Seriously, it's not even good for a bad movie; it's just pure gross cheesiness.
Super Reviewer
Jodie Foster is a great actor. Watch this movie just to see her performance.
Super Reviewer
Not a great movie.
Super Reviewer
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