Nell (1994) on Netflix
Nell has spent her life in an isolated mountain cabin, speaking a language only her family knew. After her mother's death, Dr. Jerry Lovell finds her, and a researcher wants her studied.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.5/1032,696 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes55%
Trailer
Plot summary
Violet Kellty dies of a stroke in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, and the town physician, Dr. Jerry Lovell, finds her daughter Nell hiding in the rafters. Nell speaks rapidly in a language of her own that no one around her understands. Dr. Paula Olsen, a researcher who studies autistic children, and her colleague Dr. Al Paley want Nell taken to a laboratory for observation. Jerry, who believes she should be left where she is, hires the lawyer Don Fontana to argue against it. A judge gives Jerry and Paula three months to spend with Nell in the forest and learn what she needs, leaving her future to be decided afterward.
Cast
- Heather M. Bombaas Twin #1
- Marianne E. Bombaas Twin #2
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Nell (1994)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The script was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia, was developed by co-producer Renée Missel, and was inspired by Handley's time living in the Cascade Mountains in the 1970s and by the story of Poto and Cabengo, twins who created their own language.
- Director Michael Apted said star Jodie Foster agreed to film the nude skinny-dipping scenes without any hesitation, her only complaint being how cold the water was.
- Jodie Foster's performance was widely praised and brought her the inaugural Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, as well as nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.
- Despite mixed reviews, which praised the direction, score and performances but criticized the film's execution, it was a box office success, grossing over $106 million worldwide on a $24.5 million production budget.
