James Leeds (William Hurt) the new speech teacher at the school for deaf  people. Much to the horror and inconvenience of the principal, he is willing to try new methods to teach his students to read lips and speak using their own voices. His energy and fun methods engage most of the kids and he manages to bond with them.

However, not everyone is willing to learn from him- especially the school’s custodian Sarah (Marlee Matlin), who is one of the old students at school. He is intrigued by this extremely frustrated, angry and smart woman who claims to be content with her cleaning job, as long as she is left alone.

Even though she dismisses James’ efforts, she also finds herself  attracted to him. They eventually start a relationship but misinterpretations, misunderstandings and temper will put them through many challenges…

This is a beautiful romance/drama with powerful performances. Marlee Matlin, deaf in real life as well, won the best actress oscar for her portrayal of Sarah and William Hurt was nominated for Best Actor. Sarah’s mother is played by Piper Laurie, another oscar nomination for the film.

Sometimes passionate love stories make you wonder how the actors felt about each other in real life. In this case, William Hurt and Marlee Matlin were together for a while and maybe this adds to the effectiveness of the story.

I especially love William Hurt’s role.

Favorite scene:

– He is teaching a deaf student to feel music and then dances with her. Brilliant. So much fun.

Favorite Line:

James (Hurt): I am falling in…to the pool with you……

photos from:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VQ2GAM62L.jpg

http://randazza.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/children-of-a-lesser-god.jpg