Little Man Tate

Little Man Tate centres on Fred Tate, a seven-year-old boy whose abilities in mathematics, painting and piano far exceed those of the children around him. He lives with his mother, Dede, a single parent who works as a waitress and wants him to have a stable, ordinary childhood. Fred's intelligence sets him apart socially, and Dede struggles to give him what he needs. A psychologist, Jane Grierson, who runs a programme for gifted children, takes an interest in Fred and offers him a place there, setting up the film's central tension over what is best for him and who should decide.

The film is Jodie Foster's debut as a director, the first of four features she has directed, and she also plays Dede. Adam Hann-Byrd plays Fred, with Dianne Wiest as Jane Grierson and supporting roles filled by Harry Connick Jr., David Hyde Pierce and Debi Mazar. Scott Frank wrote the screenplay, and Scott Rudin and Peggy Rajski produced. Made for around 10 million dollars, it took about 25 million worldwide.

Audience response has been modest: it holds a rating of 6.6 on IMDb from roughly 18,000 votes and the same score on TMDB from a much smaller base. A critics' rating of 6.3 from 29 reviews places it slightly below those audience figures.