Review of Children of a Lesser God

Although somewhat formulaic, I did enjoy this movie. Marlee Matlin was sensational playing against type considering her own triumphs and experience with deafness. By that I mean she would not have shirked speaking as a deaf person out of anger or resentment. Her own words describe it best - "I have always resisted putting limitations on myself, both professionally and personally." In the story, Matlin's character experiences a wide range of conflicting emotions on the way to falling in love with language instructor James Leeds (William Hurt). In so doing, she manages to repair a relationship with an estranged mother (Piper Laurie), who's only goal was to have her daughter achieve whatever she wanted in life. I liked the side stories with the teenage group in Leeds' class, their debut as the 'No-Tones' was an entertaining diversion from the main story. Overall a fine story of overcoming limitations and experiencing love where it wasn't expected.