When Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson) and Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson) discover Nell (Jodie Foster), who lives alone in a remote backwoods area of North Carolina, they're astonished to find a woman who has formed her own language after being cut off from civilization. Michael Apted directs this intense version of François Truffaut's earlier The Wild Child. Foster was nominated for a 1995 Best Actress Oscar for her gripping performance.