Nell (1994)

Nell: Directed by Michael Apted. With Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Richard Libertini. In a remote woodland cabin, a small town doctor discovers Nell – a beautiful young hermit woman with many secrets.

“My rating: 8 out of 10 (I really liked it) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI just watched this and wow, what a movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI hope no one would let the u0026quot;averageu0026quot; rating this movie has received on IMDb dissuade them from giving it a try. I canu0026#39;t predict what people will like and what they wonu0026#39;t like, but I know that for me it was an experience I didnu0026#39;t want to end. The point of movies is to immerse you in another world, to make you believe youu0026#39;re watching real people going through real experiences. For 2 hours u0026#39;Nellu0026#39; did that for me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting in u0026#39;Nellu0026#39; is some of the best Iu0026#39;ve ever seen. There wasnu0026#39;t a false note to be found from a single person in the cast – these actors BECAME those characters. Never once did I feel that I was watching a performance. It was all incredibly real, and thatu0026#39;s rare. I was in awe the whole time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Nellu0026#39; is full of wonderful things. The cinematography is utterly gorgeous. Normally visuals donu0026#39;t carry much weight with me, but even I couldnu0026#39;t help but notice. And the music, while simple, was so weighty and effective.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is not a movie for people who are bored unless thereu0026#39;s fighting and explosions and such. This is a thoughtful movie. Itu0026#39;s about people, their life experiences, and how they deal with and are shaped by those experiences.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s interesting…Iu0026#39;ve read a number of reviews of u0026#39;Nellu0026#39;, and the mixed reactions itu0026#39;s gotten for the last 20 years tell me that sometimes even highly intelligent people can see a movie and yet not really see it. Many reviewers would have you think u0026#39;Nellu0026#39; is about language, about the phenomenon of u0026quot;idioglossiau0026quot;. Trust me, thatu0026#39;s NOT what this movie is about. Yes, that may be the framework for the story, and u0026quot;Idioglossiau0026quot; is the name of the play on which this is based, but thatu0026#39;s not what u0026#39;Nellu0026#39; is about. Simply put, the story of u0026#39;Nellu0026#39; is a story of two of the most basic and yet most profound of human experiences – love and loss. For two hours we are given a window into the lives of these characters, watching them as they help one another deal with these two matters together.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI wonu0026#39;t say any more about the plot because I would hate to spoil anything for someone reading this, but I will add one more thing. Watching Jodi Foster in the very last scene of the movie…maybe Iu0026#39;m the only one who feels this way, but wow. Rarely have I seen an end to a movie that so simply, effectively, and profoundly reflects on a human beingu0026#39;s experience of love and loss.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy rating of an 8 in no way implies that I found flaws with this movie. When you reach a certain level of quality in art it becomes simply a matter of preference. In my scale, 9 and 10 are generally reserved for movies of certain genres and certain subjects. Therefore, I would not argue one bit with someone who gave this movie a perfect score.”