Children of a Lesser God (1986) on Netflix
James Leeds takes a job teaching speech at a New England school for deaf students. Sarah Norman, a former pupil there, works as a janitor and will not speak. He pursues her.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.2/1020,239 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
Hired to teach speech at a New England school for deaf students, James Leeds notices Sarah Norman, a former top student who stayed on there as a janitor. The hearing staff do not think much of her, but she moves easily among the deaf students. James wants to talk with her, so he arranges a meeting through her boss, seeks her out after classes while she cleans, and keeps at it through her refusals. She agrees to have dinner with him, and he watches from the side while she dances to music she feels. Sarah will not use her voice, and James agrees not to push her to.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Children of a Lesser God (1986)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Playwright Medoff wrote the play Children of a Lesser God as a star vehicle for the deaf actress Phyllis Frelich after meeting her in 1977 at the University of Rhode Island's New Repertory Project, basing it partly on her relationship with her hearing husband.
- Marlee Matlin was 21 years old when she won Best Actress for the film, making her the youngest Best Actress winner yet and the first deaf Academy Award winner.
- Children of a Lesser God was the first ever female-helmed film to be nominated for Best Picture, one of the five Academy Award nominations it received.
- The film carries no subtitles, for neither the spoken dialogue nor the signing; instead the signed dialogue is repeated aloud by Hurt's character, as if to himself.
