Themes: Opposites Attract, Haunted By the Past, Teachers and Students
Main Cast: William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf
Release Year: 1986
Country: US
Run Time: 119 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
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. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
John F. Cleary - Johnny; Georgia Ann Cline - Cheryl; William D. Byrd - Danny; Frank Carter, Jr. - Tony; John Basinger - Alan Jones; Jack Blessing - Announcer; Linda Bove - Marian Loesser; Leigh French - Announcer; Nicholas Guest - Announcer; Archie Hahn III - Announcer; Bob Hiltermann - Orin; E. Katherine Kerr - Mary Lee Ochs; John Limnidis - William; Lynne Stewart - Announcer; Gigi Vorgan - Announcer; James Carrington - Mr. Harrison; Philip Holmes - Glen
Credit
Barbara Matis - Art Director, Renee April - Costume Designer, Randa Haines - Director, Lisa Fruchtman - Editor, Michael Convertino - Composer (Music Score), Gene Callahan - Production Designer, John Seale - Cinematographer, Patrick Palmer - Producer, Burt Sugarman - Producer, Rose Marie McSherry - Set Designer, Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer, Hesper Anderson - Screenwriter, Lloyd Fonvielle - Screenwriter, Mark Medoff - Screenwriter, Mark Medoff - Play Author
Children of a Lesser God is a 1986 film that tells the story of a speech teacher at a school for deaf students who falls in love with a deaf woman who also works there. It stars William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, and Philip Bosco.
The movie, directed by Randa Haines, was adapted by Mark Medoff, Hesper Anderson and James Carrington from Medoff's Tony award-winning play of the same title, which ran on Broadway from 1980-1982.
In her debut role as Sarah Norman, Matlin won the 1986 Academy Award for Best Actress. Aged 21 at the time, she is the youngest actress to have received an Oscar for Best Actress. Almost completely deaf in real life since the early age of 18 months, she has since gone on to become an established film and television star and remains active in charities for the deaf and hearing impaired around the world. The film also garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for William Hurt, Best Supporting Actress for Piper Laurie, Best Picture, and Best Writing for an Adapted Screenplay.
Matlin plays Sarah Norman, a troubled young deaf woman working as a cleaner at a school for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in New England. An energetic new teacher, James Leeds (played by William Hurt), arrives at the school and encourages her to set aside her insular life by learning how to talk. As she already uses sign language, Sarah resists James' attempts to get her to talk. Romantic interest develops between James and Sarah and they are soon living together, though their differences and mutual stubbornness eventually strains their relationship to breaking point, as he continues to want her to talk, and she feels somewhat stifled in his presence. Sarah leaves James and goes to live with her estranged mother (played by Piper Laurie) in a nearby city, reconciling with her in the process. However, she and James later find a way to resolve their differences.
Production
The movie was shot primarily in and around Saint John, New Brunswick with the Rothesay Netherwood School serving as the main set. Aside from locations in Saint John and Rothsay Netherwood School, various sets were constructed by Saint John local, Keith MacDonald.
Box Office performance
Although budget details are not known the film opened at number 5 at the North American box office with an opening weekend gross of $1,909,084. The film stayed in the Top 10 for 8 weeks and grossed a total of $31,853,080 in North America.[1]
