Children of a Lesser God (film)

Children of a Lesser God is a 1986 American romantic drama film directed by Randa Haines and written by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff. An adaptation of Medoff's Tony Award–winning 1979 stage play of the same name, the film stars Marlee Matlin (in an Oscar-winning performance) and William Hurt as employees at a school for the deaf: a deaf custodian and a hearing speech teacher, whose conflicting ideologies on speech and deafness create tension and discord in their developing romantic relationship.[3][4]

Children of a Lesser God
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRanda Haines
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based onChildren of a Lesser God
by Mark Medoff
Starring
Music byMichael Convertino
CinematographyJohn Seale
Edited byLisa Fruchtman
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 3, 1986 (1986-10-03)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language
Budget$10.5 million[1]
Box office$37 million (rentals)[2]

Marking the film debut for actress Matlin, who is deaf, Children of a Lesser God is notable for being the first since the 1926 silent film You'd Be Surprised to feature a deaf actor in a major role.[5]

Development

After meeting deaf actress Phyllis Frelich in 1977 at the University of Rhode Island's New Repertory Project, playwright Medoff wrote the play Children of a Lesser God to be her star vehicle.[6] Based partially on Frelich's relationship with her hearing husband Robert Steinberg,[7] the play chronicles the tumultuous relationship and marriage between a reluctant-to-speak deaf woman and an unconventional speech pathologist for the deaf. With Frelich starring, Children of a Lesser God opened on Broadway in 1980, received three Tony Awards, including Best Play, and ran for 887 performances before closing in 1982.[8]

Following the vast success of his Broadway debut, Medoff, with fellow writer Anderson, penned a screenplay adapted from the original script. Though many changes were made, the core love story remained intact. The adaptation premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 1986 and was released widely in the United States on October 3 of the same year. Like its source material, the film generally gained praise from the hearing and deaf communities alike.[9]

It received five Academy Award nominations, including Matlin's win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.[10] Only 21 years old at the time, Matlin was the youngest actress to receive the award in this category and remains the only deaf Academy Award recipient in any category.[11] Children of a Lesser God was also the first ever female-helmed film to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.[12]

Plot

An energetic new teacher, James Leeds (William Hurt), arrives at a school for the deaf and hard of hearing in New England. Involved in his students' interests, he soon sees a troubled young deaf woman working as a janitor yelling at a cook in sign language. The woman, Sarah Norman (Marlee Matlin), is a social outcast at the school. Most of the staff have given up on her, but James begins to try to talk with her, at first with little success.

As the days pass, James tries to get to know Sarah more, but she still refuses to communicate. Despite her cold demeanor, James asks her to dinner and she accepts. Over time, James manages to crack the ice and encourages her to set aside her insular life.

As she already uses sign language, Sarah resists James's attempts to get her to talk. He finds out that Sarah refuses to visit her home, and assumes that her mother (Piper Laurie) has also lost interest in her. Through her mother, James finds out that Sarah and her sister Ruth were popular with the boys, but the boys only had sex in mind, inscribing themselves on a waiting list held by Ruth. Such treatment has led Sarah to mistrust any hearing man and resist interacting with anyone. James makes it clear that he doesn't care for that, but she doesn't believe him. When James catches Sarah using the school pool in the nude, he enters and soon they develop a romantic interest.

The relationship between James and Sarah improves and they soon begin living together. The school superintendent warns James that he doesn't believe the relationship will work, but James is adamant at staying with Sarah. James choreographs a dance with his students, which inexplicably upsets Sarah. He later learns that she thinks he hates her for not speaking. As the days pass, Sarah's cold demeanor begins to thaw, and she adapts to her new surroundings. Nevertheless, James's determination to hear Sarah speak begins to annoy her, and she feels he is patronizing her. Their differences and mutual stubbornness eventually strains their relationship to the breaking point, as he continues to want her to talk, and she feels stifled in his presence.

Sarah leaves James and goes to live with her estranged mother, reconciling with her in the process. James chases her, but she refuses to see him. After inquiring about her, James learns Sarah is working as a manicurist. Eventually, she and James reconcile at a school party.

Cast

Title

The title of the film comes from the twelfth chapter of Alfred Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King.[13][14]

Production

The movie was shot primarily in and around Saint John, New Brunswick, with the Rothesay Netherwood School serving as the main set. Aside from locations in Saint John and Rothesay Netherwood School, sets were constructed by Saint John local Keith MacDonald.

Box office

The film opened at number 5 at the box office in the United States and Canada with an opening weekend gross of $1,909,084. The film stayed in the Top 10 for eight weeks and grossed a total of $31,853,080,[15] earning theatrical rentals of $12 million.[2] The film performed better internationally with a rental of $25 million, for a worldwide total of $37 million.[2]

Reception

Critical reception

Children of a Lesser God received generally positive reviews. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a score of 81%.[16] Particular praise was given to the film's two leads. Richard Schickel of TIME Magazine said of Matlin, "she has an unusual talent for concentrating her emotions--and an audience's--in her signing. But there is something more here, an ironic intelligence, a fierce but not distancing wit, that the movies, with their famous ability to photograph thought, discover in very few performances."[17] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of a possible 4 stars, describing the subject matter as "new and challenging", saying he was "interested in everything the movie had to tell me about deafness." He continued, "The performances are strong and wonderful - not only by Hurt, one of the best actors of his generation, but also by Matlin, a deaf actress who is appearing in her first movie. She holds her own against the powerhouse she's acting with, carrying scenes with a passion and almost painful fear of being rejected and hurt, which is really what her rebellion is about."[9] Paul Attasanio of the Washington Post said of the film, "This is romance the way Hollywood used to make it, with both conflict and tenderness, at times capturing the texture of the day-to-day, at times finding the lyrical moments when two lovers find that time stops." He goes on to say of Matlin, "The most obvious challenge of the role is to communicate without speaking, but Matlin rises to it in the same way the stars of the silent era did -- she acts with her eyes, her gestures."[18]

There was some criticism that the film was told entirely from a hearing perspective, for a hearing audience. The film is not subtitled (neither the spoken dialogue nor the signing); instead, as pointed out by Ebert, the signed dialogue is repeated aloud by Hurt's character, "as if to himself".[9]

Hurt, Matlin, and Piper Laurie (in her role as Sarah's mother, Mrs. Norman) all went on to receive Academy Award nominations for their performances. Only Matlin won, becoming the first and only deaf performer to win to date, as well as the youngest winner in the Lead Actress category.

Awards

Won

Nominated

See also

References
  1. http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57284
  2. "Foreign Vs. Domestic Rentals". Variety. January 11, 1989. p. 24.
  3. "Children of a Lesser God | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  4. Crilley, Mariah (2013-01-01). ""individual yet as one": Performing Deafness and Performing Community in Mark Medoff's Children of a Lesser God". Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
  5. Schuchman, John S. (1999). Hollywood Speaks: Deafness and the Film Entertainment Industry. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-252-06850-8.
  6. Medoff, Mark (1981). Children of a Lesser God. Clifton, NJ: James T. White & Company. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-88371-032-6.
  7. Lang, Harry G.; Meath-Lang, Bonnie (1995). Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-313-29170-8.
  8. "Children of a Lesser God". Internet Broadway Database. The League of American Theatres and Producers. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  9. Ebert, Roger (October 3, 1986). "Children Of A Lesser God". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  10. "Results Page – Academy Awards Database – AMPAS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  11. "Help Page – Academy Awards Database – AMPAS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  12. Michaelson, Judith (21 July 1991). "What Took So Long?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  13. Sherrod, Kerryn. "Children Of A Lesser God". Turner Classic Movies Database. Turner Classic Movies.
  14. Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "Idylls of the King". eBooks.Adelaide.edu.au. University of Adelaide, South Australia.
  15. "Children of a Lesser God". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  16. "Children of a Lesser God". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  17. Schickel, Richard (June 21, 2005). "Miracle Worker: CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2012-12-27. Subscription required.
  18. Attasanio, Paul (October 3, 1986). "'Children of a Lesser God'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  19. "Berlinale: 1987 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.