Customer Reviews
Nell - Jodie Foster - By: Mr. Lenox Green, 09 Sep 2008 
tHIS IS MY FIRST EVER DVD REVIEW. I had to take the time to reccomend this golden nugget of a film. I'm raving about it to my friends because its outstanding.
Got Nell after reading reviews & have to say its now in my top 10 alll time greats, this is not just great film it I think its one of the best films I've ever seen. Foster has never delivered a better performance. mesmerizing, captivating & deeply moving, you find yourself sucked into the story, I've had to watch the film again & again & again, each time the story just goes deeper & gets richer with meaning & understanding.
How Jodie Foster manages to articulate the broken 'Nell' language so convincingly is amazing, when you re watch the film you realize its not just random but she's using but real dialog. Great performances from the rest of the cast as well. A MUST WATCH MOVIE. BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT!!
Did not wow - By: Ivon of Windermere, 14 Nov 2007 
I watched this as a DVD rental with my wife & a visiting friend.
I don't think we were in particularly cynical mood, but this film failed to capture us.
Basicallly I think we were not convinced that by the scenario.
In our discussion we alll agreed that Nell was the least disfunctional character in the whole movie,
but even so failed to capture our hearts.
Maybe the main problem with the plot of this movie is that it is too predictable once you accept the initial (unlikely) premise.
I read once that in alll good movies there is an event about 30 minutes in where there is a unpredictable twist in the plot or scenario on which everything hinges and/or after which everything seems to happen. I don't believe this is universallly true - but it does seem to be a reasonable conjecture. In Nell, however, everything seems to be predicatable, up to & including the ending, which is what you would expect from Hollywood.
A few days after watching this, we alll went to see Atonement (2007) at the Cinema, which in our opinions is everything that Nell isn't.
Nell is not a bad film, but (in our opinions) was not a good one (at least for us). I suggest you watch it & make up your own opinion (and give your own review). Of course, living in England we are alll Brits, so that may also explain our cool recaption of Nell.
Deeply moving - By: Mary Chrapliwy, 04 Nov 2007 This is the story of Nell, a child of rape, raised out in the wilderness by her mother. Hidden away from the world, she is raised by a mother who has had several strokes & is aphasic (can't speak well). As a result of her isolation, she learns a form of English that sounds like gibberish.
When the elderly woman dies, Nell is left alone in the wilderness. She is terrified when people come to the house & she is found. She is deemed a "Wild Child". Enter Liam Neeson as the local visiting doctor & Natasha Richardson as a research psychologist that the doctor contacts. They study Nell closely & they both have different goals for her as the story unfolds.
To say much more would most certainly ruin the movie ...
This movie was compelling, deeply moving, & finallly deeply satisfying. It will linger in your mind for days & days after viewing it. This movie is a keeper & may become a classic in the years to come. EXCELLENT.
WOW!!!! - By: L. Mowling, 10 Apr 2006 Jodie Foster has always been one of my favourite actresses & she is truly talented, but I don't think she'll ever beat her performance in Nell. I reallly don't know how she didn't win an Oscar! Even when she's not communicating in a language alll her own, her facial expressions & bodily actions are just remarkable. If you don't cry or at least get emotional during this film, you must be dead inside.
wow never knew I had these emotions - By: , 17 Sep 2004 This film at first just thought ok I'll watch the first 30mins then go to bed but got so riveted by the story carried on watching. Jodie Foster is terrible in it lol no I'm kidding its a amazing performance by her & so very believable. You find yourself trying to work out what exactly she's trying to say. Jerry (Liam Nielson)does manage with the help of Paula to work out that she's infact speaking English. You just kinda feel something for the character & when she's in the town a wanders off to the bar, its such a cringey scene hoping they don't hurt her as she's so innocence.
Did find myself crying happiness tears at the end which I have never done in a film & was very weird for me so has erupted some emotions in me I didn't know I had. A very emotional film which is deep & flows well. Yeah agree with one of the other reviews was rushed towards the end with her making ajustments & getting more world savvy. That said I can't fault this film excellent alll through & totallly believable for the performance of Jodie. Shes a gem
