Children Of A Lesser God
1986
James Leeds (William Hurt), a handsome and dedicated teacher, just started his new assignment at an elite school for the deaf. Immediately, James begins using unconventional teaching methods to reach his students. Sure enough, he manages to inspire the most introverted pupils to participate in class. But there's one person .. Read more
| Starring | William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco |
|---|---|
| Director | Randa Haines |
| Genres | Drama |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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This adaptation of Mark Medoff's poignant play, about a woman for whom life's challenge is the fact she cannot hear, picks up even more resonance in its understanding of the casual hurts we inflict upon the hearing-impaired. William Hurt is subtly complex as the speech therapist attracted to his pupil, but it's the first-time performance by deaf actress Marlee Matlin that brilliantly articulates both a character and a condition. She deservedly won an Oscar for her powerful portrayal.
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"...An exceptionally adroit adaptation of a play to the screen. As a film, it flows beautifully under Randa Haines' direction and has considerable humor as well as dramatic intensity..."
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"...Superbly played....It's another seamless performance for Hurt....[Matlin] is simply fresh and alive with fine shadings of expression..."
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
13 out of 13 people found this review helpful
A painfully contrived drama, with a better cast than it deserves
James Leeds(William Hurt) arrives at a school for the deaf with an impressive CV. He's taught speech therapy at all the best schools, but he's also had spells as a bartender and DJ, so we know he's a bit unconventional.
His boss soon tells him that 'no-one's trying to change the world here' and his teaching methods are frowned upon by the establishment, but his crazy antics are soon getting results with his initially difficult pupils. However, a beautiful but stubborn girl named Sarah(Marlee Matlin) is the one he really wants to help. Soon the pair are in love, but her disability is proving a barrier in their relationship.
'Children of a Lesser God' is one of those films that's programmed, crafted and controlled from first frame to last; to tug at the heart-strings, win awards and let Hollywood show how mature and sensitive it is. There's nothing in this movie that feels spontaneous or free as it covers all the expected bases.
However, when you cast William Hurt you know you're going to get a performance of subtlety and intelligence. His character is such a cliche(the handsome, eccentric, idealistic teacher you find only in Hollywood) that he seems occasionally constricted by the role, but he offers a convincing portrayal of a loving, frustrated man desperate to fully understand his partner.
His performance is equalled by the Oscar-winning Marlee Matlin who, in her debut role, is outstanding as the troubled Sarah. She gives a gutsy display and has a strong chemistry with Hurt, which carries the story.
The rest of Randa Haines' conventional film is full of standard 'overcoming adversity' sequences(none worse than the deaf student's song-and-dance show) and an obvious climax.
Hurt and Matlin are marvellous throughout but are let down by the material. There are glimpses here of the drama this could have been before it's swamped by the Hollywood gloss. As expected, 'Children of a Lesser God' won plenty of plaudits and nominations, but it could have done so much more. -
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Pure Hollywood schmaltz
A great disappointment. Marlee Matlin's performance was excellent and worthy of the Oscar she won for it - for the rest... Yuk! I have to disagree with other reviewers re William Hurt's performance: I thought it uneven and he often seemed ill at ease with his character. The central premise of the plot was interesting enough - but, oh dear, did it get the full Hollywood treatment! So much schmaltz you could feel it rotting your teeth. And a classroom full of clich?ed American teen stereotypes, distinguished only from those of any other US highschool flick by their common disability - and the class size (even in a specialist school, are the classes really so small?). In fact the classroom/concert scenes were so embarrassingly awful as to give the impression they had been accidentally edited in from a different film, being totally at odds with the main story. Perhaps it was Hollywood having a panic attack that the main theme might be a bit too strong, so let's ham it up with some cute teen fun - if so it was seriously misjudged as it destroyed the cohesiveness of the film. I came away with the feeling that the original play was probably somewhat better and that although there were the makings of a good movie somewhere in there, this was certainly not it.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
A little insight into a deaf person's world.
This film raises some interesting questions about the way the world treats deaf people, and it does this through the life of a hearing man who teaches at a school for the deaf. Quite apart from the philosophical aspect, the film is also an interesting romance between two very unusual characters. The film is slow-paced but rewarding.
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Not my scene
It drags a bit and I didn't rate it at all yet my wife loved it as she loves William Hurt, so am giving it 3 stars
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13 out of 13 people found this review helpful
A painfully contrived drama, with a better cast than it deserves
James Leeds(William Hurt) arrives at a school for the deaf with an impressive CV. He's taught speech therapy at all the best schools, but he's also had spells as a bartender and DJ, so we know he's a bit unconventional.
His boss soon tells him that 'no-one's trying to change the world here' and his teaching methods are frowned upon by the establishment, but his crazy antics are soon getting results with his initially difficult pupils. However, a beautiful but stubborn girl named Sarah(Marlee Matlin) is the one he really wants to help. Soon the pair are in love, but her disability is proving a barrier in their relationship.
'Children of a Lesser God' is one of those films that's programmed, crafted and controlled from first frame to last; to tug at the heart-strings, win awards and let Hollywood show how mature and sensitive it is. There's nothing in this movie that feels spontaneous or free as it covers all the expected bases.
However, when you cast William Hurt you know you're going to get a performance of subtlety and intelligence. His character is such a cliche(the handsome, eccentric, idealistic teacher you find only in Hollywood) that he seems occasionally constricted by the role, but he offers a convincing portrayal of a loving, frustrated man desperate to fully understand his partner.
His performance is equalled by the Oscar-winning Marlee Matlin who, in her debut role, is outstanding as the troubled Sarah. She gives a gutsy display and has a strong chemistry with Hurt, which carries the story.
The rest of Randa Haines' conventional film is full of standard 'overcoming adversity' sequences(none worse than the deaf student's song-and-dance show) and an obvious climax.
Hurt and Matlin are marvellous throughout but are let down by the material. There are glimpses here of the drama this could have been before it's swamped by the Hollywood gloss. As expected, 'Children of a Lesser God' won plenty of plaudits and nominations, but it could have done so much more.
-
13 out of 13 people found this review helpful
A painfully contrived drama, with a better cast than it deserves
James Leeds(William Hurt) arrives at a school for the deaf with an impressive CV. He's taught speech therapy at all the best schools, but he's also had spells as a bartender and DJ, so we know he's a bit unconventional.
His boss soon tells him that 'no-one's trying to change the world here' and his teaching methods are frowned upon by the establishment, but his crazy antics are soon getting results with his initially difficult pupils. However, a beautiful but stubborn girl named Sarah(Marlee Matlin) is the one he really wants to help. Soon the pair are in love, but her disability is proving a barrier in their relationship.
'Children of a Lesser God' is one of those films that's programmed, crafted and controlled from first frame to last; to tug at the heart-strings, win awards and let Hollywood show how mature and sensitive it is. There's nothing in this movie that feels spontaneous or free as it covers all the expected bases.
However, when you cast William Hurt you know you're going to get a performance of subtlety and intelligence. His character is such a cliche(the handsome, eccentric, idealistic teacher you find only in Hollywood) that he seems occasionally constricted by the role, but he offers a convincing portrayal of a loving, frustrated man desperate to fully understand his partner.
His performance is equalled by the Oscar-winning Marlee Matlin who, in her debut role, is outstanding as the troubled Sarah. She gives a gutsy display and has a strong chemistry with Hurt, which carries the story.
The rest of Randa Haines' conventional film is full of standard 'overcoming adversity' sequences(none worse than the deaf student's song-and-dance show) and an obvious climax.
Hurt and Matlin are marvellous throughout but are let down by the material. There are glimpses here of the drama this could have been before it's swamped by the Hollywood gloss. As expected, 'Children of a Lesser God' won plenty of plaudits and nominations, but it could have done so much more. -
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Pure Hollywood schmaltz
A great disappointment. Marlee Matlin's performance was excellent and worthy of the Oscar she won for it - for the rest... Yuk! I have to disagree with other reviewers re William Hurt's performance: I thought it uneven and he often seemed ill at ease with his character. The central premise of the plot was interesting enough - but, oh dear, did it get the full Hollywood treatment! So much schmaltz you could feel it rotting your teeth. And a classroom full of clich?ed American teen stereotypes, distinguished only from those of any other US highschool flick by their common disability - and the class size (even in a specialist school, are the classes really so small?). In fact the classroom/concert scenes were so embarrassingly awful as to give the impression they had been accidentally edited in from a different film, being totally at odds with the main story. Perhaps it was Hollywood having a panic attack that the main theme might be a bit too strong, so let's ham it up with some cute teen fun - if so it was seriously misjudged as it destroyed the cohesiveness of the film. I came away with the feeling that the original play was probably somewhat better and that although there were the makings of a good movie somewhere in there, this was certainly not it.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
A little insight into a deaf person's world.
This film raises some interesting questions about the way the world treats deaf people, and it does this through the life of a hearing man who teaches at a school for the deaf. Quite apart from the philosophical aspect, the film is also an interesting romance between two very unusual characters. The film is slow-paced but rewarding.
-
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Not my scene
It drags a bit and I didn't rate it at all yet my wife loved it as she loves William Hurt, so am giving it 3 stars
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Pure Hollywood schmaltz
A great disappointment. Marlee Matlin's performance was excellent and worthy of the Oscar she won for it - for the rest... Yuk! I have to disagree with other reviewers re William Hurt's performance: I thought it uneven and he often seemed ill at ease with his character. The central premise of the plot was interesting enough - but, oh dear, did it get the full Hollywood treatment! So much schmaltz you could feel it rotting your teeth. And a classroom full of clich?ed American teen stereotypes, distinguished only from those of any other US highschool flick by their common disability - and the class size (even in a specialist school, are the classes really so small?). In fact the classroom/concert scenes were so embarrassingly awful as to give the impression they had been accidentally edited in from a different film, being totally at odds with the main story. Perhaps it was Hollywood having a panic attack that the main theme might be a bit too strong, so let's ham it up with some cute teen fun - if so it was seriously misjudged as it destroyed the cohesiveness of the film. I came away with the feeling that the original play was probably somewhat better and that although there were the makings of a good movie somewhere in there, this was certainly not it.
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Formulaic and unmoving
For me, this took an interesting and powerful idea and then fed it into the American Movie Moulinex, chewed it up, and spat it out in rather bland, unexceptional little vol au vents. It seemed to have rather low expectations of the audience. The revelation that a deaf girl isn't automatically going to be stupid seems to be the film's trump card and we're supposed to feel uplifted and triumphant when she enrols in college... does she WANT to go to college? What exactly is she going to study? After watching the film I have no idea what she would be interested in or passionate about once the deaf chip on her shoulder has been removed by sleeping with a deaf-school tutor. Nah. Didn't do it for me
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Superb film, heart-warming
Great film, very enjoyable and a real insight into how lucky we are to be able to hear if we can but how we can still lead full lives if we can't.
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Loved it
OK I fell asleep 15 minutes from the end, but thats because I had been up working the night before! Up to that point this film was great!
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Yawn
It is very strange as I'd remembered seeing this film years ago and remembered loving it, so I got it out again - what a bore. I suppose I must just be getting old and cynical. Or developing a critical sense at last.....The pace never changed and, basically, neither did the plot. I stayed with it to the bitter end, but almost fell asleep twice. The best thing about it is the scenery which I guess is Canada? Nova Scotia maybe? Give this a miss unless you like tedium with tissues.
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superb
well acted and entertaining believeble story
Critics' reviews (5)
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This adaptation of Mark Medoff's poignant play, about a woman for whom life's challenge is the fact she cannot hear, picks up even more resonance in its understanding of the casual hurts we inflict upon the hearing-impaired. William Hurt is subtly complex as the speech therapist attracted to his pupil, but it's the first-time performance by deaf actress Marlee Matlin that brilliantly articulates both a character and a condition. She deservedly won an Oscar for her powerful portrayal.
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"...An exceptionally adroit adaptation of a play to the screen. As a film, it flows beautifully under Randa Haines' direction and has considerable humor as well as dramatic intensity..."
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"...Superbly played....It's another seamless performance for Hurt....[Matlin] is simply fresh and alive with fine shadings of expression..."
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Those whom we set free we cannot hope to own. That's the message of Mark Medoff's stage hit, which he and Hesper... read more on Time Out
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Sluggish adaptation of a play which meant more on the stage.
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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- Children Of A Lesser God
- DVD: £3.93
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James Leeds (William Hurt), a handsome and dedicated teacher, just started his new assignment at an elite school for the deaf. Immediately, James begins using unconventional teaching methods to reach ... -
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