Nell
Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: December 23, 1994 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Washington Post
Jodie Foster, transcendent in the bravura title role, is far grander than the film itself, and her performance helps camouflage the weaknesses of its structure and the naivete of its themes.
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A cocoon of somber self-seriousness envelopes some fine performances and intelligent craftsmanship in Nell. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
What's remarkable is how seldom it delivers. For all its technical brilliance, not even Ms. Foster's intense, accomplished performance in the title role holds much surprise. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
The film has a good heart, but its central premise -- that ignorance is an enchanted realm -- is too sentimental. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The strength of Foster’s spooky performance makes Nell more effective and worthwhile than it otherwise deserves to be. And it is just because we come to care about that unusual young woman that we wish she were in a better movie, but that was not to be. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
The film is beautifully made and thought-provoking, but vacillates too much between the sentimental and the metaphysical. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Jodie Foster gives a bravura performance in Nell, but the film lets her down. If only the screenplay had been half as daring as Foster's portrayal of a backwoods recluse who's never ventured into the modern world. [24 Dec 1994, p.G1]
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Even this director and the talents of three wonderful actors can't save this weak script. Read full review
40
EmpireCaroline Westbrook
It comes across as a man's eye view of what a women's film should be like, and although it's not altogether clunky, you can't help but feel that in the hands of a more sympathetic director it could have been something really quite special. Read full review
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