Sorry, this movie sucks

Awesome Movie

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The subject matter is fascinating. Nell (Jodie Foster) is a young woman raised by her mother in a setting completely cut off from civilization. She knows nothing of the outside world and has had little if any interaction with other people throughout her life, to the point at which she's developed her own language. Discovered by a grocery store delivery boy when her mother died, she comes under the care and tutelage of Drs. Lovell and Olson (Liam Neesom and Natasha Richardson) who have to decide whether or not she should be taken from her isolated environment and introduced to the "real" world.The dilemma is very powerful. What right does anyone else have to decide for Nell how her life should be lived, especially when she's clearly capable of living on her own in the environment to which she's accustomed? Why should she be subject to court orders about her fate or to living in psychiatric hospitals when there's obviously nothing really wrong with her except that she's living a life that no one in the outside world can understand? Those are tough questions. 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. Jodie Foster was - I thought - surprisingly good in this role. She usually plays a stronger type, and - at least as the movie opens - Nell was a very vulnerable figure. I didn't know if Foster would work in such a role, but she pulled it off perfectly.I would criticize this film only for the overly happy ending. Beginning with Nell appearing in court, this took on a too "syrupy" fell in my opinion; everything in the end was far too happy to be believable - in my opinion anyway. But aside from that I thought this was a very well done movie and a very interesting story. (7/10)

I hate it when films with potential for great and interesting ideas do nothing with them and instead go for the easy route. "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. At first he thinks that she's mentally ill, and thus enlists the help of a scientist, Dr. Paula Olson (the late Natasha Richardson). But they soon discover (how they come to this decision is never quite clear) that she is instead a feral woman.This is a fascinating idea. A woman living in the wild on her own for all her life...think of the possibilities. For a while, the film seems to be comfortable exploring these ideas (albeit in a conventional way). Unfortunately, the film completely collapses during the final hour or so into an overblown and downright ludicrous tearjerker.The lion's share of the blame has to go to Michael Apted. Tearjerkers can work if they are handled effectively. Apted's direction is okay in the first half, but he renders the second half a complete disaster. The script isn't too great either. Admittedly, trying to make a made up language is difficult, but it doesn't handle the translation aspects well.If there's a saving grace, it's the acting. Jodie Foster is terrific as Nell. As far as the acting goes, she's great, but the times when she is dancing around are a little too much, and given her track record, I'd have to say that this is more due to Apted than Foster, especially because he has Foster do this far too many times. 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. The first half is okay, but in the end it's just a flop of a film.

I really like movies that are different. This film is definitely done differently than most. An amazing job by everyone involved and the film came off as so believable because of those acting within it. Absolutely fun, moving and intriguing all the while. Jodie Foster 'was' Nell and then some, she was brilliant. Liam was very good; and so was Ms. Richardson. The writing for the movie was obviously above par too. I thought that the film was a worthwhile documentary in the style with which it was made. It was more than believable for me. I was moved to tears with the proper ending too!!! I watched the movie during the day without ever leaving my television. I like this performance by Ms. Foster better than any other I've seen of hers.

When I put this movie on I watched it, waiting for it to develop. I rented it on a Jodie Foster search, and I did not see any reviews beforehand. I Googled Nell while the DVD was still on and what I found is that people were really moved by the film, so I paid more close attention.I agree with the reviewers who say that Nell is a story about humanity. I also agree that this is NOT a film about a society that carries evils that will corrupt her, just people who have "ulterior motives". 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. There's tension as to whether Nell will have to be committed, as she is later, but the hospital is not the proper setting for Nell. One good thing that came out of her brief stay in the NC city is that she is able to let go of her twin sister's ghost, Mae. By ghost I mean a relationship of replayed memories and emotional strongholds.One thread that I found interesting was the ailment of the sheriff's wife. She is not mentally retarded, but she is mentally ill. As a person who is diagnosed bipolar, I wonder about the similarities between the disconnect from society and the disconnect from civilization. There's another reality that can cause depression by certain triggers, or mania, and this can cycle back and forth rapidly. What was the director thinking in putting the wife there? Another way to show how people are receptive to body language from those who are perceived good?I will remember this movie. Jodie Foster is as convincing as Leonardo DiCaprio and Dustin Hoffman but her communication is more than a brief stint. There's never a forgotten moment with her, never a time where her communication couldn't be understood by those who loved her.