Best Actress: Marlee Matlin

 It's great that Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for this film...

via lifeiswhathappenstoyou

...because in my opinion, she's the best part of it.

Do I care about William Hurt's off-putting teacher character swooping in and trying to force Sarah into speaking when she's very against using her voice? No. Do I care about his feelings at all? Not in the slightest. Yet the focus on the film seems to be dominantly how he reacts to their relationship and all of the pushes and pulls that come with it.

Marlee Matlin plays such a complex character and it's like she only exists in relation to William Hurt's character. And there are some interesting themes at play surrounding the deaf community and their relationship to the world but it feels like it's an afterthought for a very weird love story. 

I don't think I'd be especially clamouring to watch this one again, but I appreciate Marlee's talent. 

Marlee Matlin was nominated against Jane Fonda (The Morning After), Sissy Spacek (Crimes of the Heart), Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married), and Sigourney Weaver (Aliens). 

I think, for how powerful Marlee's performance was, I would have voted for her. And I have not seen Aliens, but imagine if the Academy had the stones to give Sigourney Weaver an Oscar for it. I love The Morning After and it's a crime that Jane Fonda semi-retired in the '90s and has never received another Oscar nomination.

DID I LIKE CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD? No, but I like Marlee Matlin!
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Did you like Children of a Lesser God? What are your thoughts on Marlee Matlin's Oscar win?

Keep up with all my Rewatching the Best Actresses posts here!