Taglines: A love beyond words.
Children of a Lesser God is a love story about a speech teacher who falls for a beautiful yet distant deaf girl in a small New England school for the deaf, and the obstacles that they face due to their differences. William Hurt plays James Leeds, a renegade teacher with an unconventional approach to education and a resume that includes stints as a bartender and a disk jockey. Upon his arrival, he is warned by school administrator Dr. Franklin (Philip Bosco) not to get creative with his instruction.
Naturally, Leeds already has his mind set on his teaching plan and proceeds to play loud rock music in class in order to teach the students to feel the vibrations of the music and get them to try to speak phonetically. But a new element enters his life when he meets the attractive custodian, Sarah (Marlee Matlin). An exceptionally intelligent yet extremely bitter young woman, Sarah is a graduate of the school who has decided to remain there, in the confines of her world of silence; it’s safer for her to be with her own “people” than to face what she perceives as a cruel and uncaring world.
She hardly seems interested in James and will only communicate with him through signing, although she can read lips and even speak a little. James learns from Sarah’s mother (Piper Laurie) that Sarah was sexually molested as a teenager; this explains why she is so wary of his attempts to form a relationship with her and why she is so full of fear. Eventually, James does get through to Sarah and the two fall in love, although both have to learn new ways to communicate their feelings. Though it seldom resembles the Mark Medoff play on which it was based, this directing debut from Randa Haines won an Best Actress Oscar for Matlin, for her first screen performance.
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.
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. 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, earning theatrical rentals of $12 million. The film performed better internationally with a rental of $25 million, for a worldwide total of $37 million.
Awards and Nominations
Won
Academy Award (1986): Academy Award for Best Actress – Marlee Matlin
Golden Globe (1986): Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama – Marlee Matlin
Berlin International Film Festival (1987): Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution[
Berlin International Film Festival (1987): Reader Jury of the “Berliner Morgenpost” – Randa Haines
Nominated
Academy Award (1986): Academy Award for Best Picture – Burt Sugarman and Patrick J. Palmer
Academy Award (1986): Academy Award for Best Actor – William Hurt
Academy Award (1986): Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Piper Laurie
Academy Award (1986): Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay – Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff
Golden Globe (1986): Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe (1986): Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama – William Hurt
Children of a Lesser God (1986)
Directed by: Randa Haines
Starring: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf, John F. Cleary, Georgia Ann Cline, William D. Byrd, Philip Holmes, John Limnidis, Charlene Legere, Lynne Marie Stewart
Screenplay by: Hesper Anderson, Mark Medoff
Production Design by: Gene Callahan
Cinematography by: John Seale
Film Editing by: Lisa Fruchtman
Costume Design by: Renée April
Set Decoration by: Rose Marie McSherry
Art Direction by: Barbra Matis
Music by: Michael Convertino
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: October 3, 1986
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