Children of a Lesser God (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
A speech teacher falls for a beautiful yet emotionally distant deaf woman in a small New England school of the deaf in 'Children of a Lesser God' (directed by Randa Haines). William Hurt plays the teacher, James Leeds (who also spins music & bartends), a renegade with an unconventional approach to education. Upon his arrival, he is warned by crabby school administrator (Philip Bosco) not to go unorthodox with his instruction. Naturally, James goes about his own way anyway by blasting rock music in class; so his pupils can feel the vibrations & get them to speak phonetically. But everything changes for him when he encounters the new custodian, Sarah (Marlee Matlin). A whip smart, yet mightily bitter young woman, Sarah is a grad of the school who has decided to remain there, in the confines of her silence - she'd rather be near her 'own people' than to face a potentially uncaring world.
She doesn't appear interested in James & will only communicate with him through signing; although she can read lips & speak with minimal effect. James learns from Sarah's mom (a stellar Piper Laurie, in a thankless role) that Sarah was sexually molested as a teen; this explains why she is hesitant to form a relationship with him & why she's so fearful, in general. Eventually, James has a breakthrough with her & they fall in love. That said, they both face huge obstacles (due to their differences). She still refuses to speak. And her argument to him is: if you love me, then you will enter into MY world of silence. Melodrama ensues.
The subject matter in 'Children of a Lesser God' is something I've never seen before. Not only is it strange to have an actual deaf actress portray a Lead deaf character in a major motion picture, but I feel that I also learned quite a bit about deafness, in the process. At the heart of the film though, IS the genuinely touching, sometimes humorous love story. We're introduced to the world of the deaf, but the switch to 'love story' mode is effortless.
Marlee Matlin, in her debut performance, is absolutely wonderful as Sarah. She's deaf in real life, but it's not as if this role would be a cakewalk for her. Quite the contrary. Hers is the type of performance that you can't tear you eyes from - because she always makes the right and/or interesting decisions in all of her scenes. She shows the toughness, the painful fear, the rejection, the passion, the vulnerability. All of those reasons are why she's so rebellious in the first place. Brilliant performance. William Hurt is superb, as well; playing off of Matlin amazingly well. It's their chemistry that keeps this romantic drama crackling. And yet, their unique situation (she's deaf, he's not) also brings great verisimilitude to the proceedings. So yeah, 'Children of a Lesser God' isn't perfect. There are some saccharine & obvious stretches. But it's an interesting movie which explores the difficulties that are faced in relationships concerning deafness.
She doesn't appear interested in James & will only communicate with him through signing; although she can read lips & speak with minimal effect. James learns from Sarah's mom (a stellar Piper Laurie, in a thankless role) that Sarah was sexually molested as a teen; this explains why she is hesitant to form a relationship with him & why she's so fearful, in general. Eventually, James has a breakthrough with her & they fall in love. That said, they both face huge obstacles (due to their differences). She still refuses to speak. And her argument to him is: if you love me, then you will enter into MY world of silence. Melodrama ensues.
The subject matter in 'Children of a Lesser God' is something I've never seen before. Not only is it strange to have an actual deaf actress portray a Lead deaf character in a major motion picture, but I feel that I also learned quite a bit about deafness, in the process. At the heart of the film though, IS the genuinely touching, sometimes humorous love story. We're introduced to the world of the deaf, but the switch to 'love story' mode is effortless.
Marlee Matlin, in her debut performance, is absolutely wonderful as Sarah. She's deaf in real life, but it's not as if this role would be a cakewalk for her. Quite the contrary. Hers is the type of performance that you can't tear you eyes from - because she always makes the right and/or interesting decisions in all of her scenes. She shows the toughness, the painful fear, the rejection, the passion, the vulnerability. All of those reasons are why she's so rebellious in the first place. Brilliant performance. William Hurt is superb, as well; playing off of Matlin amazingly well. It's their chemistry that keeps this romantic drama crackling. And yet, their unique situation (she's deaf, he's not) also brings great verisimilitude to the proceedings. So yeah, 'Children of a Lesser God' isn't perfect. There are some saccharine & obvious stretches. But it's an interesting movie which explores the difficulties that are faced in relationships concerning deafness.