Movie · 1986 · Drama, Romance · 1h 59m · R · English
Curator score: 5.9/10 (32.8K ratings)
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.
Overview
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 In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.9/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.54/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Randa Haines
Production
Paramount Pictures
Cast
William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf, John F. Cleary, Philip Holmes, Georgia Ann Cline, William D. Byrd, Frank Carter Jr., John Limnidis, Bob Hiltermann, E. Katherine Kerr, John Basinger, Barry Magnani, Linda Bove, Ann Hanson, James Carrington, Max M. Brown, María Cellario
Where to watch
fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A landmark performance by Marlee Matlin and a sincere attempt to center Deaf experience give the film real historical and emotional weight, but the romance is also shaped by a patronizing, sometimes coercive dynamic that many viewers now find hard to ignore. It’s worth watching for the performances, the era, and the conversation it still provokes, but not as an uncomplicated love story.
Best for
viewers interested in Oscar-era prestige dramas
people drawn to relationship dramas with social and cultural stakes
audiences curious about Deaf representation in mainstream 1980s cinema
fans of strong lead performances and stage-to-screen adaptations
Skip if
you want a modern, fully nuanced Deaf-centered perspective
you’re sensitive to controlling or emotionally manipulative romance dynamics
you prefer contemporary pacing and naturalistic dialogue
you want a film that treats accessibility and communication with current standards
Overview
Children of a Lesser God is one of those films whose reputation is inseparable from both its achievements and its blind spots. Marlee Matlin’s debut is the reason to see it: fierce, funny, wounded, and deeply alive, she gives Sarah a presence that cuts through the movie’s more conventional instincts. The film also deserves credit for bringing Deaf characters and sign language into a mainstream prestige romance at a time when that was rare.
Worth noting
At the same time, the relationship at the center of the movie can feel frustratingly one-sided. James is written and played with a kind of earnest entitlement that the film doesn’t always challenge hard enough, and modern viewers may read the romance as intrusive rather than liberating. That tension makes the movie feel dated in some ways and revealing in others.
Bottom line
As a piece of 1980s studio drama, it’s polished, emotionally direct, and very much of its awards-season moment. As a cultural artifact, it remains important; as a love story, it’s complicated enough to spark debate long after the credits roll.
Top Letterboxd reviews
sirrah993 (3★) · 419 likes
Remember that one time when the Academy honored an actual deaf person with an Oscar for a performance in a leading role? But afterwards, Marlee Martin starred in nothing major because Hollywood is an instant gratifying mechanism that likes to pat itself on its back whenever they give awards out to minorities or to the unacknowledged, believing they are socially progressive by having a low-budget film like this made once every blue moon?
Yep, that's Hollywood for you.
nora (3★) · 257 likes
tw: sexual assault mention
marlee matlin winning an oscar for this performance and then being sidelined by hollywood immediately after is the definition of tokenism, and she deserved so much better because her performance is tender and angry and strong. randa haines constructs this story's humor and charm so easily amid scenes of intense drama, literally won a silver bear at the berlinale for it, and her career is also discouragingly sparse. it makes NO sense. as a story about… more
Sam (3.5★) · 225 likes
Marlee Matlin’s debut film, she was 21 and was able to give THAT performance?! And you all still have the audacity to say that Sigourney Weaver was robbed for Aliens?! No! Marlee was absolutely incredible in this film. Her performance was fierce, angry, feisty, strong, convincing and overall beautifully done. I was so impressed with her the entire time, I really wish she did more movies. Her emotion really pops through the screen.
And that’s not to understate William Hurt,… more
robbie (3★) · 184 likes
dude... just let her sign if she wants to sign...
Dino (3.5★) · 118 likes
Best Actress Watch Number 58/94
tw; sexual violence
About halfway through Children of a Lesser God, I paused the movie. I couldn't tell if I was reading too critically into the narrative, but I eventually stumbled upon this article about the sexual/emotional/physical abuse Marlee Matlin survived at the hands of costar William Hurt. To me, there is something unsettling and coercive about James' pursuit of Sarah, and the romance that follows. He continually polices her narrative, and seeks out ways… more
1962 · Drama, History · 1h 46m · NR · Curator 9.3/10 (22.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A foundational disability drama about language, education, and the struggle to be understood.