Watch Nell For Free

Sadly Over-hyped

Expected more

What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This movie is charming and beautifully done. If you didn't understand this movie, you shouldn't review it. Nell was not a "feral child" and this is not a movie about mountain people. The idiocy of people really surprises me at times. It's clear that many of the people, who reviewed this movie, have not one clue about what they watched. Nell is not Forrest Gump or anything similar to Forrest and she's definitely a real human being that did not need to be immediately institutionalized. Nell was touching and it's too bad that some of you could not grasp the depth of this story. If you haven't seen this film, please watch. Don't be discouraged by the reviewers on here who, obviously, have the brain of a turnip.

Directed by the oft underrated Michael Apted, "Nell" stars Jodie Foster as Nell, a young woman raised in an isolated cabin by an elderly woman with a severe speech impediment. Emotionally and intellectually arrested, Nell is cared for by doctors Lovell and Olsen (Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson), a pair of well-meaning academics."Nell's" first three quarters are mostly excellent. Pleasantly low key, atmospheric and shot in the gorgeous woodlands of North Carolina, the film is at its best when Lovell and Olsen take on the rolls of detectives and cryptographers, both trying to decipher Nell's strange speech patterns.Unfortunately Apted's film completely collapses in its final act. Cardboard villains, a silly "jail break" and a horrendous monologue in a courtroom, completely derail what was initially a very original picture. The film's philosophy – that Nell is "teaching" Lovell and Olsen rather than the other way around – is likewise cringe-worthy. It's a shame, because until these final moments, "Nell" was rather unique.Incidentally, "Nell" echoes a number of Apted's other works. His "Up" series was likewise preoccupied with mapping the social development of human beings, his "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "Gorillas in the Mist" likewise found young women isolated in strange woodlands, his "Enigma" revolved around cryptography and his "Thunderheart" and "Amazing Grace" hinged on rehabilitating the socially marginalised. In "Nell", our young outcast is nursed back into the fold, but ultimately rejects "modernity". She remains in the forests of North Carolina, a decision which Apted tries desperately to attach profound significance to.7.9/10 - See Francois Truffaut's "The Wild Child".

I remember seeing this movie when I was younger, and had a fair memory of how the movie was and that it was a rather good movie. Now in 2012, I decided to get the movie and have another look at it. And I am actually quite happy that I did buy it from Amazon, because this movie is more than good."Nell" is a really beautiful story that will have you swept away and have you immersed into the story in no time. "Nell" tells a story of being human, accepting people for what and whom they are, it is a story of existence, but most importantly it is a story of the heart.I think this was actually the first or second movie I watched with Liam Neeson (playing Jerome Lovell) in it, and to this day, I still think this is his best and most memorable performance. Jodie Foster (playing Nell) is nothing short of extraordinary in this movie. Her performance is breathtakingly beautiful and so heartfelt.You really get caught up in the story, and you want to know what happens next. And the way Nell's story is revealed to you and how she grows, it is like you are right there with her. The director really did an awesome job on this movie. And the way Jodie Foster portrays Nell when exposed to the world and the life we take for granted is really good acting and amazing performing. She really makes Nell come to life as a real person."Nell" really goes straight into your heart and soul and the story will be with you for a long, long time. And you might want to keep some tissues at hand, because the story is really touching, and really helped so greatly along by Jodie Foster.I know that I will be watching this movie again at some point, even though the story doesn't hold surprising twists and such, it is one that can bear being watched more than once.

In "Nell", Jodie Foster gives, arguably, the best performance of her life. Clearly, she invested deeply in the role and her genuine strength and inner beauty shine so brightly into the character that Nell's beauty and loneliness become completely convincing.The story is more idealistic than realistic (as allegories are wont to be) which is worth remembering throughout - not least when it comes to the courtroom scene. I appreciated the sentiment of that scene whilst privately wishing it had been a closed hearing (full for a custody hearing?) Despite some ragged plot problems (that USGS wouldn't know about the Kellty homestead, that Nell is in really good health, that the lads who deliver her groceries never appear to discuss the 'strange hermit woman' with anyone, and so on) the story staggers to the finish line with an overly idyllic ending.Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson support well locking horns convincingly over which was to become Nell's champion until they realised that Nell wasn't a trophy for an academic white paper. Nell becomes the adopted child, the glue that binds Neeson and Richardson's characters' emotional attachment.The film has some poetic cinematography and good location. But it is Jodie Foster's ability to play crushingly tender moments (the mirror, the lake, the effective memory) that - I'm happy to admit - still bring me to tears and is why I don't watch it a lot. It's a good film for couples who either have, or want to have, children. When you see it, I hope you'll understand why.