Children of a lesser god (William Hurt, Marlee Matlin)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over ten years since we watched the 1986 film ‘Children of a lesser god’. All we remembered about it was that it involved someone who was deaf, and was mainly set in a school. We also recalled that we had liked the film very much. So it was definitely time for a rewatch.

The first person we meet is James (William Hurt) who is being interviewed by the principal of a school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Philip Bosco is excellent and entirely believable in his role as the principal, Dr Franklin. He cares very much for all his students and staff, but tries to be realistic: he just hopes to help the students cope a bit better in the world outside the school. So a lot of the focus is on helping them to speak and to read lips, though signing is also used extensively.

James is an idealist and enthusiast who has worked in many different environments, despite not appearing to be all that old. The actor was in his mid-thirties when the film was made. He’s assigned to a group of teenagers, and uses some interesting and unusual methods to help them make sounds, and also to improve their ability to read lips. Some are much more reluctant than others, but he is able to treat each one as an individual and respect their different issues.