Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

57% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings

Cut off from the modern world, Nell (Jodie Foster) is a wild child, who has lived her entire life with her mother in an isolated mountain cabin in North Carolina. When her mother dies, she is found by kindly Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson), who is fascinated by Nell and the language she has developed. Lovell and the equally curious psychologist Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson) eventually camp out near Nell's cabin, slowly introducing her to the larger world she's never known.

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Critics Consensus

Despite a committed performance by Jodie Foster, Nell opts for ponderous melodrama instead of engaging with the ethical dilemmas of socializing its titular wild child.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: 2/5 Jan 14, 2005 Full Review Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Nell is an effective film, and a moving one. That is largely because of the strange beauty of Jodie Foster's performance as Nell, and the warmth of the performance by Liam Neeson, as a doctor who finds himself somehow responsible for her. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Quentin Crisp Christopher Street The film Nell featured Miss Foster, and was a tour de force (whatever that may mean). Apr 21, 2022 Full Review Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Mal Vincent The Virginian-Pilot Jodie Foster's performance is much better than the movie, but Nell is still one of those movies you should see. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 1, 2022 Full Review Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant All of this proves somewhat uplifting and, in the end, fairly moving. Under Apted's caring direction, Foster gives a fearless, appealing, utterly uninhibited performance throughout. May 22, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Glen B The actors all put in a good job Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/20/24 Full Review Audience Member So many tremendous qualities in a film that has a fairly mediocre script. The premise is particularly pretty fascinating and I'm shocked to see how ho-hum the story continues to be well into the second act. Shot in the Fontana Dam region near the Tennessee/North Carolina border the exterior scenes are striking. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review ronald h Looking back on this movie 28 years after its release, it seems like more of a curiosity than anything else. Jodie Foster's performance is just downright strange. It's overacting taken to the max----but then, I guess that's what the part requires.Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson are believable in their roles. Even their fake southern accents are pretty good.The biggest problem here is plausibility. Jodie Foster is supposed to be a "wild child" who has lived her whole life in a remote cabin in the woods, with no human contact other than her late mother and sister. Yet she has perfect Hollywood teeth. The scene in which she goes into a pool hall and shows her breasts is also ridiculous. She's supposed to be terrified of people.This is one of those films in which you're constantly asking questions about the unlikely scenarios, but the filmmaker wants you to just accept what you're seeing. If you can do that, it's watchable. The premise is certainly interesting. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Effective, but do feel like that it left some unanswered questions... Jodie Foster, as always; is mesmerising! Not necessarily a must-see, but it's touching! Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review J. D So astonishingly vapid and bad it will leave you breathless with laughter. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/02/21 Full Review antonis k Elevated by a career defining perfomance from Jodie Foster and an excellent work from Liam Neeson, 'Nell' is a beautiful and touching film about love, illness and the true meaning of accepting. (10/10) Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Michael Apted Director Jodie Foster Nell Liam Neeson Jerome Lovell Natasha Richardson Paula Olsen Nick Searcy Todd Peterson Robin Mullins Mary Peterson
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Synopsis Cut off from the modern world, Nell (Jodie Foster) is a wild child, who has lived her entire life with her mother in an isolated mountain cabin in North Carolina. When her mother dies, she is found by kindly Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson), who is fascinated by Nell and the language she has developed. Lovell and the equally curious psychologist Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson) eventually camp out near Nell's cabin, slowly introducing her to the larger world she's never known.

Director
Michael Apted

Producer
Renee Missel, Jodie Foster

Screenwriter
William Nicholson, Mark Handley

Distributor
20th Century Fox

Production Co
Egg Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Rating
PG-13

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 23, 1994, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013

Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.7M

Runtime
1h 53m

Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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Nell | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)
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