This variation on the "wild child" scenario gave Jodie Foster a very juicy role to sink her teeth into and the double Oscar-winning actress doesn't miss a trick. She plays a young woman living in the North Carolina woods who has never seen the outside world and speaks a strange indecipherable language. Psychologist Natasha Richardson wants to take her into psychiatric care for research; sympathetic local doctor Liam Neeson believes she should be left alone. Although Foster is perhaps a little too showy in the title role (and was again Oscar-nominated for her pains), she still delivers a marvellous performance, and director Michael Apted, making the most of the stunning locations, does his best to keep the syrup at bay.

In a remote woodland cabin, a small town doctor discovers Nell — a beautiful young hermit woman with many secrets.