THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVED DOWN THE LANE

US/Canada/France, 1976, 94 minutes, Colour.
Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Scott Jacoby, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman.
Directed by Nicolas Gessner.

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane features Jodie Foster. She is a precocious actress, excelling in Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone. Here she has many precocious things to do (and does them well). This Canadian film is a thriller of menace, the little girl loner bequeathed a philosophy of mistrust and self, preservation, exercising it with a mixture of naive adolescence and ruthlessness. The supporting cast, especially Alexis Smith, well portraying the complexity of snobbishness, perversity and kindness of a small rural town, The film relies on the beauty of the town and the passing of the seasons for atmosphere. In retrospect, plot and complications seem quite implausible, but while it is on the screen, it makes for oddly compelling human interest and melodramatics.

1. Thriller conventions, expectations? The title and the overtones of nursery rhyme? A Jodie Foster vehicle?

2. The contribution of Canadian locations, atmosphere, the seasons? The village and its streets and shops and houses? School, libraries, the way of life?

3. Rynn within this context? The outsider and the stranger, her adaptation, her refusal to adapt? Her independence? Jodie Foster's style in portraying Rynn? A credible young girl with her background?

4. The importance of the mystery, the audience guessing the solution early or not? The details and the characters absorbing audience interest? The credibility of the plot while on the screen? Implausibility?

5. The chief characteristics of Rynn: as a young girl, puberty. independence., the heritage from her father, her education, literary references, acting out the heritage from her father? Acting out the deception about her father? Her skill with the police, warding off Frank Hallett? The encounters with Mrs. Hallett?

6. How did the audience experience the threat to Rynn's security with Mrs. Hallett's curiosity and attack? Mrs. Hallett and her strength of character, dominance, mother of Frank? The clashes and the verbal confrontation? Her curiosity and horror, the suddenness of her death? The melodramatics with her car and the car keys? Audience suspense with the car?

7. The filling in of Rynn's background, her father and his skill, poetry, Jewish background? The mother and her return, Rynn's killing her and hiding her body? Rynn antagonistic towards the memory of her mother, devoted to her father and believing everything he said, especially self-sufficiency, lack of trust in others?

8. How credible was Frank as a character. child molester in the village, the sense of menace? His guessing what happened? His blackmailing of Rynn, the trick and his falling for the trick to his death? A credible performance?

9. The humanity of the policeman, his friendship, care and concern, introducing Rynn to Mario? The humour and yet the suspense of Mario's deceiving him disguised as Mr. Jacobs?

10. The sense of ordinariness in the village, the weekend, the library, sport etc.?

11. The delineation of the character of Mario: as a cripple, his sense of joy, his devotion to Rynn, his changing of Ryan's attitudes, their outings, his trust in helping her bury the dead? The sexual fulfilment? The irony of his illness, betraying what had happened, the importance of Rynn's visit and the effect on him?

12. What had Rynn learnt from Marlo, how did it shatter her presuppositions?

13. Rynn under attack at the end, the fact that she could not live an ordinary life, confess? The atmosphere of the final killing? Audience hoping that Frank would be killed?

14. Which thriller conventions did the film use, how much did it rely on atmosphere, the study of a young girl? One critic mentioned "children's liberation". Is that relevant?