MovieChat Forums > Nell (1994) Discussion > Problems With The Movie

Problems With The Movie

posted 18 years ago by Devans00
21 replies | jump to latest

Overall, I enjoyed the movie very much. The way the producers marketed it, I thought it was going to be another exploitative, "let's all feel good watching the special person do normal stuff" movie. I was pleasantly suprised when this didn't turn out to be the case.

That said, there were two things that bugged.

1) Nell was the most groomed feral kid, ever. Between her nicely tailored clothes, tweezed eyebrows, beautifully colored and cut rich brown hair, she looked like she had a recent expensive makeover.

2) The courtroom scene. I was shocked and amazed that Nell, the woman who could not speak standard English and did not know it was inappropriate to pull up your dress in a poolhall, could talk herself out of going to a mental hospital. She somehow learned enough about judicial culture to know that the hearing was do or die time to speak up if she wanted to say living in her house in the woods. It took a huge suspension of belief to think Nell would be articulate enough to know the right things to say to sway the court.

Luckily, these were relatively small, but they still stick in my craw.

[–] iAMaMEANgirl 18 years ago

I thought the same thing about Nell's looks in that she looked extremely beautiful and dare I say sexy. To me there was a hint of sexiness to her but yes her hair was just so perfectly straight that it looked like she actually knew how to care about her looks. The color could be so vibrant because Jodie's a natural blonde so it was hard to color her hair a more real color.

[–] Devans00 18 years ago

I think you hit the nail on the head about the hair coloring and why it bothered me. Since they had to make her usually paleish blonde hair deep brown, it turned out like hyper colored.

Somehow, I can't picture her mother, rightfully afraid of men, teaching Nell how to make herself up to such an advanced level. Survival skills, like how to supplement the groceries, were probably more like it.

Well, like they say, it was just a movie.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Devans00 18 years ago

You're right, ForAnAngel52288. A lot of my complaints about Nell's look is because it was hard for me to stop seeing the actor, Jodie Foster, and see Nell as an independent being.

In my mind, I was comparing and contrasting Jodie's look with what I was seeing on the screen.
http://www.tcp.com/~mary/jodie6.jpg
http://images.google.com/images?q=jodie%20foster&sa=N&tab=wi

Usually, when I think a role is well acted, it's because I forgot the actor and focused on the character. This movie didn't allow me to make that leap with Nell.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Molly-31 18 years ago

Violet was very rich -- she owned all that land. My guess is that it was an inheritance. Originally she'd lived in town and was a cashier at the 5&10 besides attending church. The newspaper thoughtfully published her full name and address, adding to her shame and fear. What if the guy came back and killed her? They never caught him.

She did have some contact with people. The sheriff said she came into town once or twice a year and the doctor had seen her before and knew her medical history. People who snark at Nell having good grooming should remember that Violet was a very proper lady who placed value on those things -- you know what cleanliness is next to! She could easily have put toothbrushes and other personal hygiene items on the grocery list. We see Nell brushing her hair.

A common mistake people make about both autistics and people with language acquisition difficulties is that they think such people don't hear or understand what is being said. They tend to talk right in front of them as if they weren't even there. Nell might not have understood exactly every technical word, but she heard what Jerry and Paula said about her and the situation. Also, Jerry would have explained to her what the hearing was about.

[–] pmdawn 18 years ago

Nell was the most groomed feral kid, ever

Haha, I was thinking the same thing. Just look at her teeth!

[–] Molly-31 17 years ago

Yeah, except like I said, she wasn't feral, she was isolated -- and that weekly grocery delivery could easily have included personal hygiene items, including toothbrushes. I can't believe a woman like Violet would let her grooming or Nell's go to heck. Look at how neatly Nell lays Violet out at the beginning, carefully fixing her hair, putting on her boots, the whole deal. Violet must have laid May out when she died and Nell remembered it.

Like the doctors and others in the film, you're assuming things about Nell based on her speech and some of her behavior. If the film "teaches" anything really, underneath all the "let's all love each other" stuff, it's "Do not make assumptions about people."

[–] traccose 17 years ago

You know those 'Special Features' on DVD movies? They're really helpful in understanding more about the story. I highly recommend you rent the movie again and view it with the commentaries over-playing.

It is said repeatedly in the movie and throughout several posts that Nell was NOT a 'feral child'. She was a grown young woman raised by a loving, attentive mother, in total isolation. Those features of her up-bringing do NOT mean dirty, filthy, unkempt, uncared for. The repeated posting about toothbrushes in the grocery delivery makes total sense. During the scene where Jerry and Paula take Nell into the grocery store, did you observe which items Nell put into the shopping cart? She recognized those things - baby food, diapers, wipes. She chose items she had seen at home. As well, the opening scene sets it up quite profoundly. Nell takes her time grooming her deceased mother - tying her shoes 'just right', washing her fingers, combing her hair, placing a decorative comb in her mother's hair, and so on. Nell was not a neglected child, she was raised in isolation from the 'big, bad world'.

[–] Devans00 17 years ago

I believe people misunderstood me, which is easy to do given the nature of forums. By overly groomed, I don't mean grooming basics like washing the face, avoid wearing dirty, smelly and stained clothes, combing knots out of the hair or brushing the teeth.

I mean high end grooming stuff you have to go to a salon for and pay money for such as a good hair dye job, nice stylish haircut, eyebrow shaping, tooth whitening.

Plus I believe I mentioned that her dresses looked tailored to her figure and perfectly hemmed. Those are serious skills that I find hard to believe an isolated person would have. Especially a child raised by someone who had a stroke. I guess I'd buy that more if the mother had earned a living as a seamstress.

I didn't mean to imply Nell couldn't do anything at all to take care of herself in socially acceptable ways.

Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.

[–] Molly-31 17 years ago

The lady who worked with Jodie Foster on production invented a complex backstory for Nell and for her house and the items in it. One of the details they both liked and emphasized was that Nell was a good seamstress and made her own clothes. Of course they were perfectly tailored to her. She might even have had a hand-cranked sewing machine. My friend's grandma still uses one! And don't be too sure about Violet. Remember that spinning wheel? It looks like Violet had at one time spun her own yarn and / or thread.

Think about Violet's life and occupations before the twins were born. She was 40-some when she was raped. It's perfectly reasonable to assume she took in sewing to supplement her income.

Nell's haircut tells me that she had been ill and had a high fever some years previously. They used to give short haircuts to feverish children to reduce heat.

[–] Komrade_Red_90 17 years ago

The thing you all are forgetting is that Nell is not a "feral child". She was capable of caring for herself. You saw in the movie how she brushed her hair. Nell isn't supposed to be a feral child with muddy, twisted hair and cracked nails.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] ShizaMinelli 16 years ago

You do realize it's possible to have good hair color, eyebrows, and white teeth WITHOUT a salon, right? Some people are born brunette and with eyebrows that never need grroming (like me, though I'm a guy, I've never had to do a thing to my eyebrows and they are pretty much perfect). And white teeth? In my neck of the woods people tend to brush theirs regularly and never need bleaching to have a toothpaste commercial smile. Remember also that she probably never had cigarettes or coffee which aide in "non-staining" of teeth as well. Her color WAS a bit too perfect, but I've seen it naturally on people and it's not THAT unbelievable, imo.

Roxanne
1993-2007
You'll always be with me

[–] turanya 17 years ago

I relate with your opinion on how well-groomed she is for a 'wild woman'. However..

"The courtroom scene. I was shocked and amazed that Nell, the woman who could not speak standard English and did not know it was inappropriate to pull up your dress in a poolhall, could talk herself out of going to a mental hospital. She somehow learned enough about judicial culture to know that the hearing was do or die time to speak up if she wanted to say living in her house in the woods. It took a huge suspension of belief to think Nell would be articulate enough to know the right things to say to sway the court. "

I think that, although most movies with a court scene have an element of cheese (this one is no exception), she seemed to know what to say when #1. Jerry was in the room supporting her (he acted as a parental figure) and #2. She felt passionate about something. Again, I don't think that realistically this would have happened..AT ALL..but, it's just a movie - you have to give it some leeway for cheese.

[–] WilliamsBlair 17 years ago

It took a huge suspension of belief to think Nell would be articulate enough to know the right things to say to sway the court. "

She probably saw Jerry yelling at the guy on the witness stand and stood up to soothe him (Jerry) by telling him that everyone gets afraid. But I think the most unusual thing about her speech in the courtroom wasn't that she said the right things at the right time, I think it was that the court allowed Jerry to be her interpreter in the first place! He could have told them she was saying anything he wanted.

WB
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If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

[–] Molly-31 13 years ago

Once she said "Jerry, speak for Nell" the judge had to allow it.

Of course she said the right things at the right time. She understood what was going on, even if not all the technical language in court. Jerry and Paula would have explained this to her and made it clear that she had the right to say yes or no -- like in the first few minutes of the film when all those court orders are flying around, "She can't give consent because there's no one who speaks her language." Well, now there is.

She knew what was going on, especially after the helicopter business and the hospital. One of the lessons from this movie is that just because a person doesn't talk, or doesn't talk in a way you understand, does not mean they don't understand what you say, or at least know what is going on.

Let's just say that God doesn't believe in me.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] heaintloveu 13 years ago

Genie wasn't locked in a cage. She was strapped to a potty chair most of the time. But I did read that her father placed her in a crib at one point and placed a lid over the top of it, if that's what you mean by cage.

[–] trixie-k-88 13 years ago

1. Nell TECHNICALLY wasn't a "feral" child. A feral child is one completely neglected and devoid of all care from infancy. Nell was cared for by her mother for years, who I imagine taught her to bathe, make clothing, and care for her other personal needs. There's even one or two scenes where she brushes her hair. To a point Nell was "civilized", as she knew how to care for herself and things like that. However she was devoid of social influence, isolated, and terrified of the outside world. Also, some people have hair that just...doesn't knot easily or look dirty.

2. Honestly I have to agree that her comfort in this situation surprised me. It's not the eloquence that got me, but the fact she wasn't hiding under a table from all the people. But really... for this scene you just need to let the creativity of the movie go its own way. I loved the ending.