Children of a Lesser God | | Cast : | William Hurt, Marlee Matlin | | Director : | Randa Haines | | Studio : | Paramount Studio | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | October 03, 1986 | | DVD Released Date : | August 09, 2005 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | In silence and in sound | Content
 | William Hurt and Marlee Matlin play the lead roles in this beautiful and fiercely passionate romantic drama. He is a teacher at the deaf school where she is a janitor. A relationship between both ensues and that's what the entire movie is about. William Hurt's James Leeds is deeply sensitive yet full of energy and zest for love and life. Marlee Matlin's Sara Norman is complex, multi-layered and oh so achingly beautiful. Their chemistry is amazing. You hurt when they hurt whilst also rooting for them.
The director somehow tackles the difficulty of using sign language in a film and her formula works perfectly. Also, Randa Haines manages to inject some real heartwarming humour in the form of the deaf students to balance out what could have otherwise been too serious a movie. Furthermore, the music is excellent. Children of a Lesser God is gentle little film and yet is raw sometimes.It ventures to take a stab at your heart and... succeeds. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 17, 2005 | | Summary | Elicits our empathy? Yes; Good Movie? No | Content
| William Hurt is the speech/hearing teacher who comes to a deaf school to teach. Of course he has "different" ideas about teaching (i.e. anti-authoritarian). He encounters Marlee Matlin, who refuses to participate; Hurt falls in love with her, and they have a relationship. Hurt discovers things about her past that have made her withdrawn and angry. There are some highly charged scenes between Hurt and Matlin, and the actors are doing a good enough job to gain our empathy, but all in all it's just a very predictable movie. The most amazing thing about the picture to me was that even though Hurt, because Matlin uses sign language, has to speak everything she says for the audience, we get used to it quickly and it never becomes annoying. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 14, 2004 | | Summary | This is my casablanca | Content
| This is one of my all time favorites, It's sweet/bittersweet/sweet it just works. I don't know why it seems on the surface just a run of the mill movie but it's so much more the writing is excellent the cast is great Piper Laurie is great as Sarah's mom, the performances are so good. I fall in love with the stunning Marlee Matlin's Sarah everytime I see it. (What guy wouldn't?) Marlee's face is so expressive there's no need for words. William Hurt has never been better. It is a modern day classic love story. (not a chick flick) The music is incredible. The ending just blows you away emotionally the music and waves have you on the edge until the credits roll and you finally hear the high strings, wow, you'll either be moved or you don't have a pulse. I love this movie! |
| Rating | | | Date | April 07, 2004 | | Summary | Emotionally Entertaining | Content
| "Children of a Lesser God" is one of the best films released in 1986, starring William Hurt and Marlee Matlin. Its brilliant plot never loses its emotional value. Its story about a high school teacher, James, who teaches deaf students, then meets a deaf female janitor who doesn't speak, Sarah, is unique. As secrets are revealed about Sarah's past, the film becomes increasingly interesting. James and Sarah later fall in love, but the battle between Sarah and her inner demons prevents the relationship to function at the fullest. Such twists turns arise within the characters that keep audiences always awaiting anxiously for what happens next. Therefore, this film is more than a love story; it's a story about hope. Such combination adds more unique themes. The distinction between the spoken words and the sign language was brilliantly translated. Rather than typing subtitles on the lower screen during the sign language scenes, James usually speaks what they are saying. Many say that having subtitles may have likely ruined the film's emotional affect. Such accomplishment makes the writing more brilliant. Marlee Matlin became the youngest person to win the Oscar for the Best Actress catagory (age 21). Her role as Sarah proved highly difficult, considering she only expressed herself nonverbally. Her body language distinuish Sarah's emotions perfectly in every scene. Few others have accomplished this in such magnitude. Only one other actress has won an Oscar for playing a non-speaking lead role (Holly Hunter, "The Piano", 1993). William Hurt performs his role as James wonderfully. Though not as demanding as Matlin's role, his emotional value still holds on top. James struggles between love and reaching out are expressed beautifully in every scene. All other actors, major or minor, also perform their roles beautifully. "Children of a Lesser God" is a wonderful film for those looking for powerful themes. This is sure to continue pleasing audiences for many more years. Its quality proves that this is destined to become a classic. |
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