James, a new speech teacher at a school for the deaf, falls for Sarah, a pupil who decided to stay on at the school rather than venture into the big bad world. She shuns him at first, refusing to read his lips and only using signs.
There's scarcely a single moment in it that seems to be spontaneous.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
A genuinely touching love story and a clever gloss on the barriers and extensions of language.
– Stephen Garrett,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
A touching and universal love story.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
22 Jul 2008
rotten:
Hurt seems to be bucking for at least two Oscar nominations here: one for his performance, the other for best echo effects by an interpreter of signed speech.
– Pat Graham,
Chicago Reader,
16 Mar 2011
fresh:
Children of a Lesser God, though given a handsome openness in Director Haines' production, cannot transcend the banalities of the play. But Matlin does. She is, one might say, a miracle worker.