Children of a Lesser God

"She is the most mysterious, independent, beautiful, angry person he has ever met. He is the first man who has ever gotten close enough to love her."

1986 1h 59m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 354

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.

“She is the most mysterious, independent, beautiful, angry person he has ever met. He is the first man who has ever gotten close enough to love her.”

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Cast

William Hurt
James Leeds
Marlee Matlin
Sarah Norman
Piper Laurie
Mrs. Norman
Philip Bosco
Dr. Curtis Franklin
Allison Gompf
Lydia
John F. Cleary
Johnny
Philip Holmes
Glen
Georgia Ann Cline
Cheryl

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Randa Haines
Writers: Mark Medoff, Hesper Anderson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Randa Haines, shot by John Seale. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Convertino. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lisa Fruchtman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

William Hurt and Marlee Matlin and Piper Laurie carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "She is the most mysterious, independent, beautiful, angry person he has ever met. He is the first man who has ever gotten close enough to love her.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090830 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Randa Haines directs. John Seale behind the camera. Michael Convertino scores. Lisa Fruchtman cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Randa Haines, shot by John Seale. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Michael Convertino. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Lisa Fruchtman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5William Hurt and Marlee Matlin and Piper Laurie carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "She is the most mysterious, independent, beautiful, angry person he has ever met. He is the first man who has ever gotten close enough to love her.".
7IMDB entry: tt0090830 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 12 themes, including "deaf-mute", "deaf", "man woman relationship", "listening".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Seale
Original score: Michael Convertino
Editing: Lisa Fruchtman
Production design: Gene Callahan
Costume design: Renée April
Makeup / hair: Ann Brodie
Sound: Robert J. Litt
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $31,853,080
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Randa Haines

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-02-10
★ 7/10
A school for the deaf on a Maine island with William Hurt and Marlee Matlin A teacher (William Hurt) moves to coastal Maine to work at a school for the deaf on an island where he becomes interested in a striking, but disturbed janitor (Marlee Matlin), who was once a student there. "Children of a Lesser God" (1986) is part celestial and mundane; beautiful and profane. Thankfully there’s more beauty. The Northeast coastal locations are wonderful and Hurt makes for a worthy protagonist while expertly pulling off a difficult role. Marlee Matlin is an exquisite revelation without which the movie would’ve failed. Everything builds to a stunning dramatic scene in the second half, which is expertly executed. Unfortunately, the couple hooks-up a little prematurely. More time should’ve been spent with the journey to consummation. Nonetheless, there are great moments here. The film runs 1 hour, 59 minutes and was shot in New Brunswick, Canada (Rothesay, Saint John & Beaver Harbour). GRADE: B
CinemaSerf2024-04-11
★ 6/10
Acclaimed teacher "James" (William Hurt) arrives at a school for the deaf where his very "hands on" techniques rather shake the established order of superintendent "Franklin" (Philip Bosco). His pupils make good progress, though, as his methods start to encourage them to speak more and act with much more confidence amidst each other and amongst the talking community at large. Soon they playing a bit of second fiddle to the enigmatic "Sarah" (Marlee Matlin). She's now the school caretaker and has a reputation as a bit stand-offish and temperamental, but it turns out that she, too, is deaf and that she has also been in this establishment for over twenty years. Most people around the place just put up with her, but he determines to try to get to the bottom of her obvious frustrations and see if he can't help her deal with them. Initially a job of work for the man, this soon becomes something more visceral and intimate for both - and that tests the mettle of just about everyone. It's probably a testament to Matlee's strong and characterful performance here that I just didn't take to "Sarah" at all. I found the character - whatever her background, an angry and somewhat obnoxious creature who offered little for me to feel sympathetic towards. Not in a woe-is-me type of sympathy, just in a general sense of there ever being a likeable person under all the baggage. Their frequent rows and tantrums come across as increasingly contrived and by the end I thought the writing was on the wall for the pair as far as the plot was concerned and I didn't really care whether she spoke or didn't. I do think that shows her skill as an actress, and to an extent William Hurt's as a foil, but somehow this film resonated far more for what it meant politically and sensually at the time as a pice of profound innovation than it did dramatically on screen..