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?

[–] bear022013-588-696101 14 years ago

People from this region are ignored and insulted all of the time and it sickens and angers me.
If we were non-Caucasian the media would be telling the World about us.
Western North Carolina is special.That means good.

[–] osopestoso 14 years ago

Wah. Get over yourself.

"They sucked his brains out!"

[–] hotfoot9772 14 years ago

Good God. I am so sick of people "being offended" at every little word and sound. I say quit being so GD narcissistic! Not everything is about YOU.
If I got offended every time I had to listen to someone spout off some stereotype about people from Kentucky, I'd run out of hours in the day to be pi$$ed off! Don't take everything so personally. Nobody had you in mind when they made the movie!

I saw this movie again a few days ago, after having not seen it since it's release, and my opinion is still that this movie is brilliant, and aside from some of the cheesiness in the court room scene, and maybe some esthetic properties of Nell, the whole thing was executed brilliantly.

I don't know why some people are so closed minded that they automatically assume that someone who chooses (or knows no different) to live away from society as we know it couldn't possibly have any pride in their appearance, or any idea of personal hygiene or cleanliness. If you pay attention, you will note that Nell's mother quite obviously took great pride in her appearance and that of her daughters. Having a stroke and being unable to speak easily understandable English does not a moron make. Nell and May would have learned to speak like their mother, adn communicate perfectly effectively with her. Personally I find the whole speech pathology part so intriguing.....it may be my favourite element of the movie. That and the way that Natasha Richardson pulls off that accent so perfectly--she's English but you'd never know it!

I have no problem at all with the idea that there are people living remotely and isolated. I know they're out there. They're in the Carolina's and the Ozarks, the Appalachians.....hell they're here in the Blue Mountains in NSW and in the Victorian high country, and Tasmania. Call them what you like--hicks, bumkins, hermits, ferals--they're out there on their own voition, and for a reason. If I had my way I'd bloody be one of them...

..although I might have to have internet. People I can do without; the www I can not! hahaha

[–] glassrose385 14 years ago

I agree with hotfoot's post. I recently watched this movie for the first time in years. The last I had seen it was maybe 10 years ago when 15 or 16. I liked the movie more now because I understood certain things more. I thought the community portrayed in the movie showed the good and the bad in southern areas as other posters have mentioned. The delivery guy and his friends were the only villains in the town. Others in the town like the sheriff and his wife understood Nell's circumstances and were kind to her.

[–] trixie-k-88 14 years ago

Are you serious? Really? You're THAT sensitive? Nell was NOT making fun of people who live in rural areas or even totally isolated areas. Nell was a depiction of a persona completely isolated from ALL human contact except for that of her mother and (for a short time) her sister. She had extreme fear instilled in her about other people, and was completely set apart from society and all other human influence. I imagine that even if you lived in an isolated area your family allowed you to go to school, socialize with other children, let you watch TV/movies, read books other than the bible, and occasionally took you to the closest town. So... stop being so sensitive and realize this is a movie about "feral children" and not the people of rural NC.

[–] osopestoso 13 years ago

Guilty conscience? Lighten up, Francis.

"They sucked his brains out!"

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MikaelAndersRosenkrantzBrahe 12 years ago

I know you wrote this a number of years ago, but I feel compelled to respond to you. You are being ridiculous and their is no implications on small mountain town Americans except the portrait of a small town Sheriff who has no problem whatsoever with subjugating and kidnapping a grown citizen of a country and robbing her of her life and freedom. If anything this is an complete insult to human beings who decide to live outside of society and a complete portrait of the ruthlessness of a society that comes in and decides to exploit a native person/people. This is not unlike what settlers in America did to Native Americans when they made nice with them and offered to help them until they trusted them and could start completely using and destroying them.

And it paints American psychiatry perfectly as it is in reality. A pseudo-science born out of prison asylums dedicated to uprooting individuals to be used in their giant institution laboratories (that are prisons in the residential quarters) so that they can make money off of them and find new techniques of forcibly changing and manipulating human beings into desired actions.

I would have been nice if Nell had slammed on axe into the front of Dr. Paula Olsen's and gave her an old fashioned psychiatric frontal lobotomy with a rusty implement. That would be what is called poetic justice.

[–] Ten-Inch-Toni 11 years ago

You know, after the OPs opening salvo, she never came back. Just another TROLL. They leave an opening insult to a film or actor and then watch everyone else choose sides and get up in arms. Not that I haven't read some good comments from these "hit-and-run" TROLLS but just once I'd like to see one come back and actually respond to some of the opposing opinions in an intelligent manor.

[–] uber_mensch2012 10 years ago

after reading a good portion of these, i think i can boil it down to a few things.
1: ppl are generally under educated if they find the movie insulting and/or have a bit of self hatred and not pride in who they are or where they come from
2: the ppl who hate this movie are generally under educated and/or simpletons and/or wholeheartedly lack empathy and/or find art distasteful and/or lack the ability to spend a day in the life of someone elses shoes. (i get not caring for it, but hating it is rather strong)
3: the ppl that think nell was retarded are sticklers about the letter of the law, and not justice, which was the whole point between liam neeson and the psychiatrist chick dynamic.

i mean come on. this is based on real world events. it was located where it was cause it was similar to the ardennes in france, a forest most ppl know, even though the boy (victor) was from southern france.

i don't remember the movie ever saying where they were located in the south. hell, it could have taken place somewhere in canada, and naming a county or town was like naming springfield in the simpsons. there is one of those everywhere. i never heard southern drawl or southern "sayings". i actually thought it was based in the north west like montana or oregon. then washington or colorado when they had to deal with a somewhat large city.

this movie just does the hollywood spin on real life events, having a deeper meaning into nells circumstances, and having that feel good happy ending. well that and the fantasy that nell wouldn't be thrown in a cell, striped of her inheritance, and anyone trying to help would be stonewalled in real life. thats my only gripe.

[–] Molly-31 10 years ago

It could have been Montana and the larger city could have been Billings or Bozeman. My great-aunt in Montana lived very much like Nell, especially after her husband died. She had an isolated cabin and did everything herself.

[–] mcriveraaa 8 years ago

You need to have an open mine. this was a real and unique story. not everyone is the same.
this is a master piece. I loved it.