FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS "NELL"!

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Released in 1994, "Nell" is the story of a young woman who is discovered following the death of her mother in a remote cabin in the woods who is unable to speak English, but rather a cryptic-sounding language in the mountains of North Carolina. A psychiatrist named Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson) is sent by a physician, Dr. Jerry Lovell (Liam Neeson) to investigate the case. It is evident that Nell has had no exposure to the outside world beyond the forest. A judge rules that Lovell and Olsen are to keep Nell under observation for three months to determine whether traditional institutionalization is in order. Gradually, the two uncover more about Nell's past and how she adapted a distorted speech pattern after her mother (whose speech defect was the result of a series of strokes) along with words remembered from the private language spoken with her deceased twin. Before the moral issue of what is in Nell's best interests is solved, the two find that they need to learn how to communicate with her.

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The most outstanding performance perhaps of her career to date, Jodie Foster is remarkable within the vehicle of her characters' range, with a heavy demand upon an unearthly-sounding enunciation that is combined with gestures and facial expressions, to convey a full range of emotions few actors could navigate to the Oscar nomination Foster earned--and many feel--she should have won.

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This film brilliantly explores the triad relationship between Nell, Jerry and Paula as each struggles to decide what is in Nell's future. Paula and Jerry begin this journey as friends who then fall in love (Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson, indeed married shortly after this film wrapped). The tensions that threaten to divide Jerry and Paula are brought together by Nell herself as the two break down her seemingly encrypted language to understand both literally and metaphorically. The brief scenes of nudity are used here not as eroticism, but rather to demonstrate Nell's innocence.

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Overall, The reason I chose this film was that at the core of the central character lies an untampered gentleness and an ability to love and experience joy. This film was unjustly denied an Oscar win over Jessica Lang's "Blue Angel". But it is undeniably one of the most powerful acting performances of the nineties. Here's the Central Cast: Jodie Foster is Nell Kellty, Liam Neeson is Dr. Jerry Lovell, Natasha Richardson is Dr. Paula Olson; the film is Directed by Michael Apted and Written by Mark Handley from William Nicholson's screenplay. I hope you find this to be a powerful performance of the human heart!

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ENJOY!