Little Man Tate (1991)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jodie Foster

Writer (WGA):

Scott Frank (written by)

Release Date:

11 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It's not what he knows. It's what he understands.

Plot:

Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius,...

Plot Keywords:

Gifted | Cigarette Smoking | Forest | Globe | Talk Show

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jodie Foster	...	Dede Tate
Dianne Wiest	...	Jane Grierson
Adam Hann-Byrd	...	Fred Tate
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Eddie
David Hyde Pierce	...	Garth Emmerick (as David Pierce)
Debi Mazar	...	Gina
P.J. Ochlan	...	Damon Wells
Alex Lee	...	Fred Tate at 2
Michael Shulman	...	Matt Montini
Nathan Lee	...	Matt's Teammate
Celia Weston	...	Miss Nimvel
Danitra Vance	...	Clinic Doctor
Richard Fredette	...	Bartender
George Plimpton	...	Winston F. Buckner
Jennifer Trier	...	Grierson Institute Teacher

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1994) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Jodie Foster's directorial film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fred is on the five-day trip with Jane, he goes into her office and the light outside the room is on. When he opens the door again the light is off, then when he goes out it's back on again.

Quotes:

Jane: Now Fred, these chores are your responsibilities. And for every week that you do them correctly, we'll do something fun like go to the symphony or rent a nice documentary.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 1992 MTV Movie Awards (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mozart's String Quartet No 21, D Major, KV575

Through the Eyes of a Child...

I've long been a fan of Jodie Foster's acting, and upon my first viewing of "Little Man Tate", I can now say I'm a fan of her directorial talents as well.

The story is of Fred Tate, son of single mother Dede. It's found that, at the age of 2, Fred can already read the print on the bottom of a dinner plate. Dede, and the rest of the world, realize that Fred is a genius, but Dede is determined that Fred, while given ever opportunity to expand his gift, is not exploited by the well meaning, but pretentious head mistress of a school for gifted children, Jane Grierson, portrayed by the outstanding actress Dianne Wiest.

The story's told, mainly, through the eyes of Fred; however, we also see the viewpoints of Dede & Jane who each feel that she alone has Fred's best interests at heart. We are given tremendous insight into how Fred sees and relates to the world around him. He has the understanding that's beyond most adults but only the emotional experience of his 7 years of life.

Through Fred, we can see that the academic world of gifted children isn't just filled with the nice, polite, precocious, bespectacled children that we are often shown on news magazines or public television programs. We are allowed to see that some are as outright rude and pretentious as the adults who claim to be only nurturing their gifts.

In her feature-film directorial debut, Foster is able to capture the world as Fred sees it. She's able still allow us to see Fred as the youngster he is. Fred's intellect isn't the basis of the story, just one element in it. She lets the story do the work, and she let's the character's tell the tale. She allows the characters to be real people not just the stereotypes that so often are found in films dealing with this subject matter.

Jodie Foster's only directed two films since this one ("Home For The Holidays"-1995 & "Flora Plum"-2005), and I've seen "Home For The Holidays" which I also feel was very well done. It seems that Ms. Foster is being very careful in picking her projects, much like the late Stanley Kubrick did. I only hope her unique talents are recognized and she's given more green lights for future projects.