The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

Wow, where has this little flick been? The Little Girl who Lives Down the Lane is an intriguing mystery, an intense character portrait and a dark, brooding thriller all rolled into one rather odd little package - and on a personal note, I liked it a lot! The film has gained some notoriety (although not as much as it would have if it was more seen) for the scene involving a thirteen year old Jodie Foster undressing - but that never offsets the point of the film, and besides that; it's hardly like the scene has just been thrown in to satisfy the perverts in the audience. Furthermore, the most shocking scene in the film involves a hamster with no naked teenage girl present! Anyway, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is about a young girl, living down a quiet lane with her poet father. Only nobody has ever this man, and it isn't long before nosey neighbours - such as the perverted Frank Hallet and his enquiring, power mad mother comes sniffing round, eager to upset her life. She's not quick to let them know the truth, however, and along with her boyfriend; a crippled young magician from the neighbourhood, she is forced to take steps to preserve her independence.

The most obvious theme running through the film stems from loneliness, and how being brought up on your own will ultimately leave you a different person to if things such as schools are allowed to take charge. This is interesting; as it preaches the idea of social conditioning makes up the person more than most like to admit. The film is often touted as being a horror, but this is incorrect. While the film does feature several macabre instances, and a foreboding and mysterious atmosphere that is present throughout the run time; there's very little in the way of actual horror. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is much more of a drama-come-mystery than a horror film. The film is probably most notable for it's lead performance. Jodie Foster had already impressed in 1976 with her role in Martin Scorsese's hit film, Taxi Driver - but here she is far better. Despite her young age, Foster commands the screen and despite being a child, her maturity and acting talent shine through to make this a more complete performance than most actresses manage in a lifetime.

On the whole, this film was once hard to come by; but with the new DVD currently doing the rounds, the film should be seen by everyone. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane fits snugly alongside the rest of the classics of the seventies, and the fact that it has only just resurfaced is one of cinema's biggest injustices. Highly recommended viewing!

Even though I have heard and read about this movie for over 20 years, I never actually saw it until the newly released widescreen DVD. THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE is one of the best written and well acted films I have ever seen!! Although you will most likely find this title in the "horror" section at your video store, it is a solid mystery / suspense story. I have to say I was so impressed with the intelligent screenplay that I never lost interest even for a minute. The fact that the film is rated PG should not let that sway you either. There are some dark, chilling moments and innuendo that would probably gain the film an R rating today. By the way this DVD is the European cut which has a few moments absent from most U.S. prints! Also the soundtrack contains some funky heavy bass driven music that totally reminded me of Goblin! One of my greatest pleasures in life is to discover or re-discover old movies through the magic of DVD. Thank you MGM for making this title available!

"The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane" focuses on Rynn Jacobs (played by the brilliant Jodie Foster), a thirteen year old girl who lives in an old house a little outside of a small seaside town. The neighbors and townspeople are nosy, and always end up checking in on Rynn to find her all by herself, a very independent little girl. But where is her father? That is the question that everyone who visits the home has. Rynn has temporary excuses to her father's whereabouts, but soon Rynn has to resort to extremes - even murder - to hide a secret from the nosy people and the landlord who are invading her home and wanting to know too much information.

More of a drama thriller than a horror movie (as the film may seem), "The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane" is an interesting psychological thriller that is held very well with Jodie Foster's excellent performance (as always). She shows off her acting abilities in everything I've seen her in, and even in this, which is her earlier work, she still shows a high amount of potential. It's no wonder she's become such a celebrated Hollywood actress, she's good at what she does. Martin Sheen, also playing a nosy neighbor in this film, is also very good in his role. I liked the idea of this film - an isolated and lonely little girl who seems to be possibly living alone, but hiding a secret as to why her father has mysteriously disappeared. But where is her father, and why isn't he there? The premise is intriguing so I thoroughly enjoyed the film. And the idea of such a young child resorting to murder is plain disturbing, even though it has been done a number of times, it's done very well here.

But the real strong point of this film is what happens in the audience's point of view. We, just like the landlord and her son, and all of the other nosy people that are invading her home, don't know the secret behind why Rynn's father is gone either. The audience is put in the position of these characters, and it's a really fun experience to try and figure it out for ourselves.

Overall, "The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane" is a sometimes eerie and interesting thriller. It keeps the audience guessing along with it but holds onto our interest the entire time and doesn't fail with the storyline. Very well executed and very well acted, with a strong atmosphere to go along with it. Don't expect a gory slasher film though, because this is nothing even close to that. 7/10.

Great Suspense and Atmosphere. This movie instantly became one of my all-time favorites and is difficult to describe without giving too much away. More than most movies I can remember, reading too many comments about it's content beforehand can detract from the viewing experience (and a great one at that!) and ruin the suspense. I will try not to give too much about the film away beforehand.

First of all, I loved the production quality, atmosphere and locale. It would be a great movie to see on Halloween night for example, at least in my opinion. It really can be watched anytime however and will be just as great. The acting was high quality, all the way around but especially with Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen and the direction and score are excellent as well.

I had a problem with the plausibility of Jodie Foster's character behaving essentially as an adult. It was a little tough for me to buy into a 13 (or newly turned 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.

And trying to figure out what's going on really *is* fun in this movie. Figuring out what's going on with her mysterious father is enough to keep you occupied in itself (if you think you've figured out what's going on with him you will find later that you probably haven't) and that's only one aspect of this complex scenario.

I hate when movies this good are not in general circulation any longer. Brian de Palma's "Sisters" and many other excellent movies also fall into this category. I can't figure out why studios can't figure out ways to continue to make them available to the public, after all...they went to the trouble to make them in the first place.

If you do get a chance to see "Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" however, jump at it. You aren't likely to be disappointed.

New to a seaside village, a young girl and her poet father seem to live an isolated existence, until curious neighbors get nosy and always seem to find the fiercely independent girl on her own... Unwisely advertised as a horror movie, "Little Girl" is instead an amazing psychological thriller, rich with atmosphere and featuring a lead performance by Jodie Foster that is deft and incredibly assured. The sequence where Foster, troubled by the sickness of a friend, eats alone at a hamburger counter (actually, she hasn't touched her food), then wanders down the street studded with marquee lights has to be one of the most beautiful Foster moments put on film. Well-directed and written, the movie is very cognizant of the way adults condescend to or ignore children, and allows leading character Rynn to use her intelligence as a tool--and maybe a weapon as well. Those looking for slasher-type jolts may be disappointed with the picture; it's more subtle than something like "Halloween", creating suspense out of tension and mood instead of outré violence. Foster was at a personal peak at this time in the movies, having just completed "Taxi Driver" and "Bugsy Malone". This isn't the harrowing character study of "Taxi Driver", but it is a remarkable portrait of a terribly uncommon child dealing with very grown-up issues. Due out on DVD in October 2005.