The Little Girl Who Lives
Down the Lane (1976)

	Directed by: Nicolas Gessner	COUNTRY Canada/France GENRE Drama/Mystery/ Romance NORWEGIAN TITLE Den lille piken nederst i veien RUNNING TIME 100 minutes
	Produced by: Zev Braun
	Written by (based on his novel): Laird Koenig

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Rynn Jacobs	Jodie Foster	½
Frank Hallet	Martin Sheen
Mario	Scott Jacoby
Mrs. Hallet	Alexis Smith
Officer Miglioriti	Mort Shuman

Review

As refreshing as decades-old films come, made at a time when artistic freedom was not only valued in Hollywood, but more or less the norm. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is a film deriving from genre conventions, but made free from these rules. It is a film about moral issues, but completely free of moralizing. And it's a film about exploitation, but without being exploitative – almost. (Because the talk of the town was 13-year-old Jodie Foster's butt, which was really her 20-year-old sister's butt. This is a discussion about film production, however, not the artwork itself, and thus largely irrelevant – especially thirty-five years later).

The real relevance here lies in the film's two atypical approximations of standards: one formal, one thematic. The former concerns how the film uses the typical build-up and expectations of the horror genre to create a tension which is never released as expected in this genre. This gives the film a level and type of suspense which sets it apart and gives it its own, vibrant identity; an eerie mystery with integrity. The latter concerns how the film treats the title character, who is brilliantly and maturely portrayed by Jodie Foster, like an adult in every respect; precisely in order to contrast and thereby slightly criticize – or at least question – society's perception of her. How can a 13-year-old girl live alone? Society treats this as a deviation; the film itself makes no fuss about it, taking it at face value. And this conflict gives The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane a relevance which is not an ounce reduced today. The sensible direction by Nicolas Gessner adds to the effect, and so do the wholehearted performances by young Scott Jacoby as the boyfriend, and Martin Sheen as the creepy guy next door.