No. Just, no. I don't believe this film for a second. On the surface, Children of a Lesser God seems like a probable story: James Leeds is a new teacher at a school for the deaf in New England who falls in love with Sarah Norman, an angry young deaf woman who is completely isolated from the world. By reaching out to her, he penetrates her self-imposed world of silence and teaches her how to love. But, I repeat: I'm not buying it. The love between James and Sarah is completely disingenuous. After only seeing her for a few minutes, James is positive that Sarah is one of the smartest, most beautiful women he's ever met. How does he know this? He hasn't even spoken to her. Why is he interested in her? The film spends a great deal of time with developing their relationship, but completely forgets that for there to be a reaction there must be a catalyst. One minute, they hate each other. The other, they're in love. The drama in this movie totally contrived and manufactured. It turns out that James is also a ground-breaking teacher who can get through to rebellious deaf teens with the power of song and dance. William Hurt, who plays James, cannot pull off the character. Hurt, who on a good day sounds like he's on a Vicodin drip, is not energetic, not enthusiastic enough to sell his role as a cool, hip, rebellious teacher who sticks it to the man. It's a real shame, because there's a good movie in here somewhere. But this isn't it.
5/10
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