Children of a Lesser God (1986) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Randa Haines

Starring:  William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Philip Bosco, Piper Laurie

When I first saw Children of a Lesser God upon its release in 1986, I all but genuflected in its presence.    I thought it was so moving, so romantic, so awesome.    Years later, I watch the film again and wonder what movie I was looking at back then.    Time does that.    Some movies hold on to their power even years after I first saw them.    Others, like Children of a Lesser God, are films that do not retain their original magic and become ordinary.

My biggest complaint is how its deaf female lead Sarah (Matlin-in her Oscar winning role) is not allowed to emerge as a true individual.    She can not read lips or speak, but communicates through sign language.    Her once and future lover James (Hurt) teaches at a school for the hearing impaired and uses new methods to help his students communicate in the hearing world.    One of his students learns how to curse out loud, which is at first amusing, but quickly becomes an old joke.    James is fascinated by Sarah, who works as a janitor at the school.    Her boss (and James') gives James the rundown on her:  "She isn't hard of hearing, she's completely deaf."

James thinks he can reach her and teach her how to speak.    She refuses, mostly because she fears rejection and being hurt, but she does not refuse to become James' lover.    Hurt has quite a load to carry here.   He not only has to handle his own dialogue, but he interprets Sarah's signing for the audience.    It is quite a feat for Hurt, but it detracts from Sarah as a person.    We see her through his eyes and she never really has a chance to speak in her own language.    Subtitles would have been completely understandable in this situation, but instead we hear Hurt when we should be listening to Sarah.

Matlin, though, emerges still through her facial expressions and her anger towards the hearing world.   Her refusal to come out of her shell is her middle finger to a world she felt turned its back on her.    We see this and it would have been more powerful if we did not have to hear Hurt speak for her.   The romance between the two feels obligatory.    We know they will fight, form a truce, become friends, fall in love, break up, and then reunite at the end.   I do not think I gave away any spoilers.    This is a movie where a romance was unnecessary.   I would have preferred a friendship or a teacher/student relationship in which each learns about the other and leave the sex out of it. 

Hurt's big emotional scene occurs when he demands to Sarah:  "Speak to me."   I think that underlines why the film ultimately does not work despite good performances.   I was reminded of Iceman (1984), in which a caveman was found frozen in a block of ice and thawed out so he could live again in the modern world.  (No, this isn't Encino Man I'm talking about).   The scientists in the film make the mistake of attempting to teach the caveman how to speak English.    But if a caveman from thousands of years ago were suddenly resurrected, wouldn't we be more fascinated to learn his language?