Nell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nell
Nell film poster
Directed by	Michael Apted
Produced by	Jodie Foster Renee Missel Graham Place
Written by	William Nicholson, Mark Handley (screenplay) Based on the play Idioglossia by Mark Handley
Starring	Jodie Foster Liam Neeson Natasha Richardson
Music by	Mark Isham
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Jim Clark
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 14, 1994
Running time	113 min.
Language	English, Nellish
Budget	N/A
IMDb profile

For the Norwegian singer often credited as "Nell", see Nell Sigland.

For the Korean band "Nell", see Nell (band).

Nell is a 1994 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 was directed by Michael Apted, and was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia. The original music score is composed by Mark Isham. Foster was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award. The two co-stars, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson, married the year the film was released.

Tagline: Language beyond understanding. Life beyond words. Discover...

[edit] Plot summary

Nell Kellty's mother was paralyzed on one side, which contributed to the oddity of Nell's speech. Technically, because she lives in a house, cooks her food, wears clothing and performs routine household tasks, she is not a "wild child" or feral child. She seems like one to outsiders at first, because of her terror of strangers, her ritualistic behaviours, and her unintelligible, idiosyncratic language. This language, called Nellish by the doctors studying Nell, is made up of English like phrases that are a blend of stroke-impaired speech and twinspeech, or twin language.

Once Nell’s mother dies, the outside world finally confronts her through Dr. Jerome (Jerry) Lovell (Liam Neeson) and Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson). When Lovell went there to declare her mother dead, Nell screamed and fought from fear but gradually adjusts to his presence as he visits more and more often.

Unsure what to do, he talks to psychologist Paula Olsen, who wants to bring Nell to a laboratory for tests. When Lovell fights this in the courts, he and Olsen are given three months to observe Nell in her own home; when this period of observation ends, the judge will rule on Nell's fate.

[edit] Main cast

Actor	Role
Jodie Foster	Nell
Liam Neeson	Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
Natasha Richardson	Dr. Paula Olsen
Richard Libertini	Dr. Alexander 'Al' Paley
Nick Searcy	Sheriff Todd Peterson
Jeremy Davies	Billy Fisher
Robin Mullins	Mary Peterson
O'Neal Compton	Don Fontana, Lovell's Attorney
Sean Bridgers	Mike Ibarra, the Reporter
Joe Inscoe	Judge
Heather M. Bomba Marianne E. Bomba	Twins
Stephanie Dawn Wood	Ruthie Lovell
Nicole Adair	autistic child