Romantic drama starring William Hurt and Marlee Matlin. On taking up his new post at a school for the deaf in Maine, speech teacher James Leeds quickly obtains results by forgoing accepted teaching methods in favour of his own unorthodox approach. Then, James meets gifted ex-pupil Sarah Norman, now a cleaner at the school, who stubbornly refuses to learn new communication skills.
This adaptation of Mark Medoff's poignant play, about a woman for whom life's challenge is the fact that she cannot hear, picks up even more resonance in its understanding of the casual slights we inflict upon the hearing-impaired. William Hurt is subtly complex as the speech therapist attracted to his pupil, but it's the first-time performance by deaf actress Marlee Matlin that brilliantly articulates both a character and a condition. She deservedly won an Oscar for her powerful portrayal.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| James Leeds | William Hurt |
| Sarah Norman | Marlee Matlin |
| Mrs Norman | Piper Laurie |
| Dr Curtis Franklin | Philip Bosco |
| Lydia | Allison Gompf |
| Johnny | John F Cleary |
| Glen | Philip Holmes |
| Cheryl | Georgia Ann Cline |
| Danny | William D Byrd |
| Tony | Frank Carter Jr |
| William | John Limnidis |
| Orin | Bob Hiltermann |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Randa Haines |
