Children of a Lesser God (1986) Paramount/Drama RT: 118 minutes Rated R (language, sexual content, partial nudity) Director: Randa Haines Screenplay: Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff Music: Michael Convertino Cinematography: John Seale Release date: October 3, 1986 (US) Cast: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf, John F. Cleary, Philip Holmes, Georgia Ann Cline, William D. Byrd, Frank Carter Jr., John Limnidis, Bob Hiltermann, E. Katherine Kerr, John Basinger, Barry Magnani, Linda Bove, Ann Hanson, James Carrington. Box Office: $31.8M (US)
Rating: ****
I often wondered about the meaning of the title Children of a Lesser God, the Tony-winning play by Mark Medoff later made into an Oscar-winning film by Randa Haines (Something About Amelia). It comes from the epic poem “Idylls of the King” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The line goes, “O me! For why is all around us here/As if some lesser god had made the world.” The idea seems to be imperfect people are created in the image of an imperfect or lesser god. In some old versions of Christianity, this imperfect god is known as Demiurge. The title then refers to the main character, a deaf woman in love with a hearing man. And you thought your relationship was complicated.
James Leeds (Hurt, Body Heat), the idealistic new speech teacher at a school for the deaf, arrives with great ideas and good intentions. He wants his students (and everybody else) to learn to speak so they can make it in the world. Not everybody shares his enthusiasm, especially not Sarah Norman (Matlin in her acting debut), a former top student at the school who now works there as a janitor. She’s angry, rebellious and stubborn. Although he persists, she refuses to learn to speak. She does, however, agree to go out with him. They eventually start a romantic relationship that’s made complicated by his continued efforts to get her to speak and her refusal to let him into her world of silence.
Children of a Lesser God holds the honor of being the first female-directed film to be nominated for Best Picture. Unfortunately, Haines was NOT nominated for Best Director. However, the Academy redeemed itself somewhat by awarding Matlin the Oscar for Best Actress. Not only does the 21YO actress remain the youngest winner in that category, she’s also the only deaf Academy Award winner in ANY category. That she received it for her first performance makes it even more amazing. It’s totally deserved!
Matlin, who signs nearly all of her dialogue (save for a few words), delivers a powerful performance as Sarah. In her life, she’s managed to shut everybody out including her mother (Laurie, Carrie) to whom she hasn’t “spoken” in years. She has her reasons for being mad at the hearing world. Her way of dealing with the cruel world is not being part of it. She opts to live in silence rather than learn to speak or read lips. Her fear of hurt and rejection is absolutely palpable. 35 years later, I’m still impressed with what Marlee does.
The novice actress more than holds her own against Hurt in one of his finest performances ever. As James, he does incredible work. He’s a well-meaning sort who thinks he’s doing good by teaching the deaf to speak, but fails to see that some would rather not. The two leads have great chemistry. Their final scene still holds tremendous power. Laurie, in her few scenes, is terrific as the estranged mother with issues of her own. Philip Bosco (The Dream Team) is also very good as the cynical school headmaster who isn’t totally on board with James and Sarah being together.
Children of a Lesser God may sound like one of those sappy 70s love stories that used terminal illness or physical disability as a gimmick, but it’s not. It’s more serious-minded than the likes of Love Story or Ice Castles, one of the few movies where I didn’t stifle the urge to scream out loud at the end. It doesn’t condescend to the deaf girl by making her come off as a saint or object of pity. She’s a realistic, fully formed character with flaws. Also, it doesn’t allow James to be some kind of selfless hero who pats himself on the back for daring to love a handicapped girl. He truly loves Sarah and wants to help her even though she doesn’t want to be helped that way. It’s easy to see why he’d fall in love with Sarah. She’s beautiful, intelligent and strong-minded. In one scene, she dances like it doesn’t matter if anybody’s watching. She doesn’t give a f*** (that’s how she’d put it probably).
I absolutely LOVE Children of a Lesser God. It’s an outstanding drama with doses of humor. The screenplay by Medoff and Hesper Anderson is well written. It strikes just the right balance of the two. Haines made a smart choice in casting non-hearing actors as students and a few others. You might recognize Linda Bove from Sesame Street as a successful deaf woman who Sarah admires. There are also some funny exchanges between Hurt’s character and a hulking lad (Limnidis) who has a way with profane words. Music plays a significant role as James uses it as a learning aid. The scene where he leads his students in a dance and lip-sync number is especially well choreographed.
Children of a Lesser God is what I call a quality film. It’s gripping, intelligent, touching and beautiful. I’m convinced it would have taken home Best Picture that year if it wasn’t for Platoon. It too is a great film, but it’s not one I can watch multiple times. I can do that with Children of a Lesser God though. It really is an excellent movie.
