The chess game which they play is perhaps rather too obvious a metaphor for what’s going on here, yet it remains fascinating throughout. For a film which, for the great majority of the time, is nothing more than two people talking to each other, it’s remarkably engrossing to watch the two fencing for intellectual dominance. With such a low-key approach, a lot is riding on the performances of the two leads, and both Neil and Liles hit it out of the park. Is this just a facade, or is she as incorrigibly dangerous as the authorities believe? Ellie, however, is having none of it, and seems intent on embracing her fate.
Olivia, who still believes in Ellie’s humanity, called in Fonda as a last hurrah to prove the young girl is salvageable before she is put down. However, her wilful rejection of all authority has led those in charge – Colonel Birch (Palame) in particular – to the conclusion that euthanasia is the only option available, given the threat she poses. Turns out she killed her mother, and also possesses freakish paranormal talents of telekinesis, which is why she’s locked up in this military facility. If it didn’t, the conversation with her which follows certainly does.įor Ellie is incredibly bright, and completely sociopathic. But the stringent security precautions (“In the event the subject escapes the restraints, drop to the floor and cover your head”) under which she’s held, should give him a clue that this is far from a normal nine-year-old. To avoid pre-judging her case, Fonda deliberately avoids reading the documentation about her with which he has been provided.
Psychiatrist Jimmy Fonda (Neil) is brought into a military facility by an old friend, Olivia (Andersen), to interview a young girl, Ellie (Liles), who is being held there.
This small-scale production – a cast of little more than half a dozen, and one location, not counting the park scenes which bookend it – packs a wallop significantly above its weight. “Hannibal Lecter’s kid sister, crossed with Carrie”
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