Nell (film)
| Nell | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Apted |
| Produced by |
Jodie Foster Renee Missel Graham Place |
| Written by |
William Nicholson Mark Handley |
| Based on |
Idioglossia by Mark Handley |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Dante Spinotti |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $31 million |
| Box office | $106.7 million |
Nell is a 1994 American drama film starring Jodie Foster as a young woman who has to face other people for the first time after being raised by her mother in an isolated cabin. The film also co-starred Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Richard Libertini, and Nick Searcy. The film was directed by Michael Apted, and was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia. The play was inspired by Handley's time living in the Cascade Mountains in the 1970s, and the story of Poto and Cabengo, a pair of twins who created their own language.
The original music score is composed by Mark Isham. Foster was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role. She also won the first Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. The film was given a limited release on December 16, 1994, before expanding into wide release on December 23, 1994.
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.
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Wikipedia