Yesterday I watched Children of a Lesser God, starring Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. I had wanted to see this movie since I watched Matlin’s Oscar acceptance speech for the role on YouTube while waiting for my roommate who takes approximately two hours to get dressed. This film, directed by Randa Haines, tells an intense story about Sarah, a deaf woman who works as a janitor at a deaf school, and James, a hearing man who teaches at the school. Matlin does a great job playing Sarah, an angry badass who won’t let James into her world for a long time. The two fall in love but the fact that James can hear and Sarah cannot (even though James can sign very well) creates tension and drama. James wants Sarah to learn how to speak but Sarah doesn’t want to learn or conform to a practice that isn’t natural for her. This difference in opinion leads to many an emotional conversation and in Sarah’s case, many opportunities to leave the scene by storming out and slamming a door.
This is a fun moment when Sarah decided to dance in the middle of a restaurant and James just stands watching awkwardly.
In general I really liked the movie. There were some moments of confusion that I experienced, particularly the pool scene. Some thoughts that entered my mind were: why is Sarah just casually swimming nakedin the school pool at night? How does a person just forget his shoe in a pool? Did he think no on was going to find it? Didn’t he need the shoe? I also had trouble working out how much time had passed between scenes but that may have just been because I was so distracted and angered by the pool scene.
I found comparing James’ and Sarah’s distinct perspectives the most interesting and exciting part of the movie. The movie came out in 1986, so definitely look forward to some interesting hair and wardrobe choices. This movie is definitely more on the serious side. I didn’t cry this time around but I feel like it could happen. There are also some very emotionally charged couple fights which I enjoyed. Children of a Lesser God is a good choice if you want to watch something that keeps you thinking after it ends.
My rating: 7/10
Trailer:
(Actually) Lost in Translation 