Today’s post is a reprint from 10 years ago. Theme is so important in a work of fiction, so dig in and learn how this exceptional film can help you develop theme in your story.
Nell is an amazing movie. Brilliant on so many levels. The plot itself is wonderful and enough to drive the story. But we see again another story where there is a theme underlying the plot.
Nell is not just about a girl who has spent most of her life in isolation. In Nell, we are put face-to-face with the question about our place in the world—what is considered normal and sane in the way we live our lives. Two forces fight over Nell—those who want to let her keep her freedom, intent on proving that she can not just survive but thrive without society. And the others, those in “authority,” who insist Nell cannot care for herself, that she has to have others tell her what to think, eat, dress, how to act, and how to live in a way that is not just acceptable but healthy.
Nell is a young woman raised in the back country, who has never encountered or interacted with any people other than her family (don’t want to do a spoiler here). A delivery boy discovers her right after her mother has died, and that tragedy has left Nell bereaved and alone. A doctor is asked to go talk with her, and thus begins the story of how Jerry, and then Paula, live on the property and study Nell, trying to communicate with her and assess her mental and emotional state.
Does Nell need to be put in a state home? Or can she live on her own. Who has the right to decide? Continue Reading…
