Although beautifully shot on stunning locations and worthy in its intent, this is quite often a long slog about a 'wild woman' found living alone in the North Carolina backwoods and speaking a language no one can understand.

You may, however, find yourselves practising a few words of 'Nellish' after the film, a sign that the story has some charm and grip, chiefly thanks to the performance of Jodie Foster as Nell, the 30-year-old who has never met other humans, but becomes the object of medical curiosity after her hermit mother dies.

Despite a few irritations - would the woman really have such good teeth? - Foster's bewitching portrayal helps the film through some of its stickier patches and reaches a peak in one of those foolish but emotive courtroom scenes with which Hollywood hardly ever fails.