Amazon.com Essentials:
This film is an intelligent examination of an easygoing
doctor (Liam Neeson at
his teddy bear best) and his discovery of Nell (Oscar nominee Jodie
Foster), a
woman who was raised in the woods with no human contact except her
speech-impaired
mother. The movie covers a familiar "fish out of water" story unlocking
Nell's soul (by deciphering her incomprehensible language) and then
taking her into the modern world. What makes Nell special is the
earnest
work by Neeson, Natasha Richardson (as an uptight psychologist), and a
rich, small array of supporting members (journeyman Nick Searcy as the
town sheriff is marvelous). At its center is another extraordinary job
by Foster, who also produced. Director Michael Apted (Thunderheart)
brings his regular load of realism into the picture, set aglow by luscious
camerawork (by Dante Spinotti) in the hills of North Carolina. Through
lyrical speech and gesture, Foster makes you believe she's in another
woman's body, akin to Jeff
Bridges's work in Starman, a marvelous sight to behold that powers
the movie. Written by William Nicholson (Shadowlands) and Mark
Handley, based on Handley's play Idioglossia. --Doug
Thomas
