THE MIGHTY

INTRODUCTION: The mid-festival gala of the 14th Birmingham International Film Festival was handed over to this heart-warming adaptation of Rodman Philbrick's best-selling novel 'Freak The Mighty' in which the disabled heroes conclusively prove that people who do wrong in a previous life come back as England Football Team managers.

AWARDS & HONOURS: Golden Globe Film Awards 1998: Support Actress; Sharon Stone (Nominated), Original Song; The Mighty (Nominated).

SYNOPSIS: Maxwell Kane (Henson) is a somewhat slow-witted child who has been held back repeatedly. His enormous size leads him to become favourite victim of a group of school-yard bullies who go by the name of the Doghouse Boys. Max lives with his mother's parents Gram (Rowlands) and Grim (Stanton), his mother herself is dead and his father Kenny (Gandolfini) is serving life for her murder.

Max's life is changed when single mum Gwen Dillion (Stone) and her bone-marrow deficient son Kevin (Culkin) move in next door. After some initial hostilities Kevin becomes Max's reading tutor and the two form a symbiotic relationship. Kevin rides around on Max's shoulders advising him the best course of action creating a single entity they dub 'Freak the Mighty' who can lead an approximation of a normal life that neither could manage alone.

Inspired by the classic tales of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot they set forth upon a quest to right wrongs in downtown Cincinnati. In the course of one such good deed they encounter old friends of Max's parents Loretta Lee (Anderson) and Iggy (Loaf), who revive memories that Max would rather keep buried, memories that Max must confront when his father escapes from prison.

REVIEW: Philbrick's best-seller 'Freak The Mighty' was that rare beast a book that appeals to children and adults alike, a tale of children acting out heroic deeds in the mould of king Arthur, is intertwined with the far more heroic tale of children and their families dealing with disability. Chelsom brings Charles Leavitt's life affirming script beautifully to life with a surprise cast who all put in faultless performances.

Stone silences all her detractors with a truly magnificent performance as working class mother Gwen, putting her heart and soul into the part as never before, no more so then when she takes out her frustration on an apparently innocent chocolate vending machine at the hospital. While her unashamed flirting with Culkin provide one of the most genuinely moving mother-son relationships in film history, make no mistake it is the rest of the world not these two that are dysfunctional.

Rowlands and Stanton provide superb support as the aptly named Gram and Grim, caring for their ward while remaining oddly distanced from him. It is only when Grim prepares to sit vigil over Max shotgun in hand, upon Kenny's infortuitous escape, only to have Gram talk him down, that we see just how much they care. Anderson is oddly unglamorous even alongside Meat Loaf as the most resolutely un-maternal Loretta who is saved in more ways than one by 'Freak'. While Gandolfini chews-up the scenery and spits it out again in his overwrought performance as Kenny.

The true stars of the film are however Culkin and Henson who portray Kevin and Max with rare pathos for two such young actors. Kieran Culkin conclusively proves that there is talent lurking in the Culkin family genes, he is Mac's brother, with his studied portrayal of the smart arsed genius who's heart is literally too big. While Henson is naturally sublime in his portrayal of gentle giant Max, our narrator for the course of the story.

The word freak has presumably been dropped from the title for fear of upsetting and alienating the real-life heroes who deal with disability every day of their lives. This apparent condescending concession is a shame as Charles Leavitt's script tugs at the heart strings without delving into the slushy mentality of your traditional Hollywood weepie, constantly constraining it into the conventions of reality. This film is perhaps too real, in its portrayal of suffering and joie-de-vie, with its decrepit sets and harsh characterisations, to achieve any sort of mainstream success.

Mutt's Rating: ****

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