Nell

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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
Budget	N/A
IMDb profile

Nell is a 1994 drama film starring Jodie Foster as a young woman raised by her mother in an isolated cabin who has to face other human beings for the first time. 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 SAG Award.

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

1 Plot summary
2 Main cast
3 External links
4 See also

[edit] Plot summary

Nell Kellty's mother was paralyzed on one side, which contributed to the oddity of her (Nell's) speech. Technically, because she lives in a house, cooks her food, wears clothing and competently performs routine household tasks, she is not a "wild child" or feral child. But she seems like one to outsiders at first, because of her terror of strangers, her sometimes ritualistic behavior, and her unintelligible, idiosyncratic language.

When she is found by doctor Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson), there to declare her mother dead, she screams and fights. He starts to come more and more often, and he becomes fascinated by the young woman who gradually adjusts to his presence in her life.

Unsure what to do, he talks to psychologist Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson), 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 her and then the judge will rule what will happen to her.