The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
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Movie Reviews of The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Movie Review: Remarkable thriller has finally arrived!
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost fell over when I read that one of Jodie Foster's best films is finally on DVD, hidden away no longer. "Little Girl" was a modest box office success from American International (now acquired by MGM) which features one of Foster's best performances--younger or older; her Rynn Jacobs is purposefully cut off from the world, wise and alone, and she's forced to match wits with intruders like Alexis Smith as the nasty Cora Hallet. Not a big-budget release, the film carefully builds atmosphere within the one major set using a terrific group of actors, eerie-romantic music and a solid script. And Jodie, who reportedly was uneasy making this film(with the sexual aspects and the scene with the hamster), is so incredibly vivid: whether hiding a chipped front tooth(as per the novel), lighting a cigarette from a birthday cake candle, or showing off Gordon, she's mesmerizing. Two minutes were added from the European cut: a playful F-word and some nudity featuring an obvious body-double for Foster (actually, it was older sis Connie Foster who stepped in to disrobe). Movie Review: DVD at Last
Summary: 1 Stars
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Long lost and all but forgotten, finially coming to DVD. And, in widescreen. The local used for the film fits exactly. First of all, I loved the production quality, atmosphere and locale. The acting was first class and shows Jodie's soon to blossom strong talents. Martin Sheen probably won't be happy to see his character reprised, he is not a nice guy in this film, especially with Jodie Foster. The direction and score are excellent as well.
The plausibility of Jodie Foster's character behaving essentially as an adult stretched things a bit. It was a little rough for me to buy into a 14-year-old cooking gourmet meals, serving fine wines, listening to Chopin and generally acting much older than her chronological age. Even taking into consideration the events in her life, which apparently had
shaped her personality, she seemed too mature for her age. If you put that concern aside however and accept it as a given premise of the movie you can sit back and enjoy the fun of trying to figure out what's going on.
The film takes pleasure with its twists and turns and will keep you guessing.
Movie Review: First-Rate Mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
This quiet little film is rather interesting. Foster plays a brilliant teenage girl who is fiercely independant, and whose father is always away on business. Sheen plays a creepy child molester who sets his sights on her. There is a secret that Foster is holding and Sheen aims to uncover it, all the while aiming to satisfy his twisted desires. Moody and damp mystery has become increasingly popular over the years, and rightfully so as it features outstanding, mature performances and an effective storyline. We can only hope that it is soon released on DVD, as the video is long out of print. Search this gem out.Movie Review: Highly underrated.
Summary: 4 Stars
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (Nicolas Geesner, 1976)
I find myself more willing to forgive a film for not sticking to its literary roots when I've seen the film first, and such is the case with The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. It's hard to believe it's been almost thirty years since I first saw this film, but it is; when I rented it last weekend on a nostalgia trip, I found that it's lost none of its brilliance over time.
Much of that has to do with the performances of the two principals, Jodie Foster (fresh off her success in Taxi Driver) and Martin Sheen (three years after Badlands, three years before Apocalypse Now). Foster plays a thirteen-year-old girl menaced by pedophile Sheen, but takes care of herself quite nicely in that regard (in fact, Foster's character here might have been the poster-child for what is known today as empowerment). There's a subplot going on about Foster's mysterious father, whom no one ever sees, and a related coming-of-age one about her falling in love with the nephew of a member of the local constabulary. All of it is handled quite nicely, and while things are rushed, they're done as well as they can be; chalk it up to Laird Koenig adapting his own novel for the screen. It's almost enough to forgive the large gaps those who have read the book will notice, and Gessner's almost amateurish handling of the passage of time (it seems almost as if Foster and the nephew, played by Diary of Anne Frank/Return to Horror High star Scott Jacoby, go from wary acquaintances to lovers overnight, since Jacoby does nothing to show the passage of weeks except add snow to the scene; he must not have ever lived in Cleveland, where snow on Halloween may be uncommon, but does happen now and then).
Highly underrated atmospheric suspense. A must-see for Jodie Foster fans. ****
Movie Review: Jodie Foster
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never been a big Foster fan, but when I saw this movie I was impressed. Jodie starred in this movie when she was a teenager. The movie is mainly about a girl whose father and mother have seemingly abandoned her, and she's left alone to fend off nosy teachers, and a would-be child molester. Although it appears that Foster's character has it hard, her sagacity is amazing- -Foster's the smoothest kid ever...nothing in this movie is what it seems.