MovieChat Forums > Nell (1994) Discussion > Does this movie insult anyone else?

Does this movie insult anyone else?

posted 19 years ago by ldrye
94 replies | jump to latest

I've seen this movie a few times and the entire story line insults me. I am from the mountains of North Carolina. (It was actually filmed in the town next to mine.) This movie makes us all look like backwoods hicks. I can't believe people watching this movie could actually believe there are people like Nell living in the woods, in complete isolation. Nell and the characters of the town greatly misrepresent all of us living in Western North Carolina. Does this movie insult anyone else?

[–] quanah11 19 years ago

Amazing. You completed and totally missed the point of this film. Don't get so caught up with shooting locations. In this case, it has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline.

It's a powerful film. Look for the message, and if I have to explain it, then chances are you'll never get it anyway.

Q

[–] tegyeven 19 years ago

I thought the town in the movie looked like a great place to live. It was a small town and the people were likeable. And I don't blame Nell's Mother for living where she did, it was a beautiful place. No, I don't think that the movie makes everyone in North Carolina look like a bunch of backwoods hicks. Nell came to live there because of certain situations in her life, not because she lived in N.C.

[–] moliz01 19 years ago

I live in South Carolina and we've had quite a few movies filmed here that protrayed locals as they really are. We weren't insulted. That is portraying the truth. If someone is insulted by that, then he/she must be overly self-conscious of their own behavior and believe that something is wrong with his/her behavior.
I have been to many western North Carolina towns, large and small and I can tell you from experience, there are people exactly as shown in "Nell". So what? We, here in SC, have our own eccentric citizens and some that behave just like the ones in "Nell". Again, so what?
A movie cannot be insulting unless it presents a concept that is totally false and one that is meant to be deliberately cruel. Moviemakers don't set out to see how badly they can portray a people or person. They set out to tell a story-no more, no less.

The movie "Nell" is a beautifully done movie and every aspect of the movie is extremely well done. It's one of those rare instances in which no Hollywood formulaic trash is thrown in for the purpose of titillating. It is rare to see such an inspiring movie in the midst of so much Hollywood garbage. What astounds me is that Jodie Foster didn't win the Oscar for that performance. I guess that just shows that Hollywood goes for the PC when passing out awards. But then, that's not suprising, is it?

[–] moliz01 19 years ago

Tegyeven, that is extraordinarily beautiful country there in NC-even more so than it is shown in the movie. That's one reason it has been chosen for other movies like "The Last of the Mohicans", among others.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jdiddy336 19 years ago

its about a feral child.

duh

[–] EleganceToSpare 19 years ago

I live in Arkansas. I am not offended.

"Quid Pro Quo, Doctor"
"Well Clairice. Have the lambs stopped screaming yet?"

[–] SerenaThorne 19 years ago

I'm in Asheville, NC...and honestly, I would *adore* having more "Nells" and less of that which currently resides here walking around! :-s LOL

In my expeditions around the area over the last 12 years, I would have to say that yes, it would be very, VERY possible for this situation to be real, even today. Perhaps not really in Buncombe county--which is growing in leaps and bounds, and positively swelling at the seams with an influx of (brace for very un-PC opinion, and sorry if you don't like it but you probably aren't dealing with it on a day-to-day basis, so spare me the flammage. ::BEGIN RANT::) absolutely freaky, street-dwelling, transvestite-like, drum-pounding, paganistic, dread-locked, patchouli-drenched, tie-dyed, panhandling, protesting, artsy-fartsy, airy-fairy earth biscuits who have taken over the majority of downtown; in the rest of the county, the influx of regular newcomers from all over the country is so much so that a large majority of the acreage is no longer pristine by any stretch. An acre of land could be purchased for between $500 and $800 when I moved here in the early 90s. Now, you're downright lucky to get half an acre for $6000 to $8000. But I digress....

However, if you go out a little father, into Madison and Yancey counties, then yep. Not only are there small towns like the one Nell and the doctors were in, there's plenty of forest land in which one could easily get lost, on purpose or not. (Eric Rudolph is an example--he only got caught because he wanted to be.)

Nope, not offended by the movie, I loved it. One of my husband's and my best friends is a guy whose personality is almost identical to the sheriff's; he's a sweet ol' country boy born and raised in Franklin, NC. And the nasty little sh*theads in the pool hall? The actors who played them deserved Academy Awards, believe me. Stereotyped, yes, okay, but just trot yourself over into the new Walmart SuperCenter and you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one of those kinda guys. (It's one of the only places in Asheville open 24/7, so the parking lot is a major hang out--that and Ingles grocery store parking lot.) Okay, okay...::END RANT::

In spite of all the above, the mountains here are absolutely incredible. They're breath-taking, and the fall foliage is phenomenal. The footage for Nell was shot on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and you can see the very same type of view from the different overlooks along it. If you ever get a chance, drive it sometime--and don't forget your camera, you'll want a permanent memory of the magnificence!

Nell's a great movie. Ms. Foster's a great actress and Liam Neeson surprised me in this one. There's nothing to be offended about. Enjoy it for what it is; a movie, and a well-done one at that.

[–] Movie_Tech 19 years ago

PDNFTT.

[–] Sefton23 19 years ago

I am from Robbinsville, not originally, but moved there very young and grew up there. Actually, I just got back from vacationing there with my kids, a few hours ago. The place is beautiful, although very isolated. I am not in the least offended by this movie. I even helped with the making of it back in '93. Yes, SOME of the portrayals of the locals were a little exaggerated, however, if I am to be honest... I have met a few there in R'ville that are much worse than the ones portrayed in the movie. However you shouldn't judge a whole community, or whole section of a state based on the worst case stereo types... I mean if you flip it around another way... are all New Yorkers obnoxious busy-body snobs? NO... but they are portrayed that way in many movies. I don't think anyone should be offended by a movie's portrayal, it is just the directors use of creative liberty, used only to make the movie better.

By the way, the movie was based in 1986 (not the 70's), and no it was not based on any real event. Nell's house on the lake is real, but built for the sole purpose of filming. The rock on the lake was styrofoam. The grass growing on the lake edge was fake and used to cover up all the extention cords that ran to the cameras. The inside filming of her house was actually filmed at the local skating rink and not at the house on the lake. Helping with the making of this film made me realize just how fake Hollywood really is. :) I had a blast!

[–] Debimk61-1 19 years ago

I live in Asheville, NC and this movie didnt insult me at all. I've been to Robbinsville where the film is shot. I've even had a beer in the pool hall where Jeremy Davies was showing his breasts to Jodie Foster. People who think Nell is a sterotype for the area are wrong. She proves in the final act of the film that she is of normal or even above normal intelligence. If you think the rednecks in the film are a sterotype and that people like this don't exsist here you're wrong. I've met dozens of people like the rude characters in this film. Many of the players were locals according to director Michael Apted's commentary. Asheville is the largest city in the area and is much more diverse than a place like Robbinsville has a chance to be. I know my opinion may be a little slanted but if there are characters in the city I live in that are like those in Nell then there are surely just as many people like this where Nell was shot(about an hour or so away). As a side note my grandfather grew up in a home not very different from Nell's in Franklin, NC during the 1940's and 1950's. They had a curing shed for storing meat in the winter and didn't have running water until he got back from the Korean War.