Sweet Nothing in My Ear

Though Sweet Nothing in My Ear initially does come off as just another far-from-subtle movie-of-the-week, there’s little doubt that screenwriter Stephen Sachs – working from his eponymous play – slowly but surely manages to infuse the proceedings with a surprisingly even-handed sensibility. The film casts Jeff Daniels and Marlee Matlin as Dan and Laura, a happily-married couple whose relationship is tested after Dan decides to look into fitting their deaf son with a cochlear implant. Laura, deaf since birth, is convinced that the procedure will prove detrimental to their boy’s happiness – as he’ll subsequently find himself shunned by the tight-knit deaf community. Initially, Sweet Nothing in My Ear‘s positive attributes are virtually rendered moot by some of Joseph Sargent’s baffling directorial choices – with his decision to dub in voices for the various signing characters (instead of employing subtitles) clearly the most obvious example of this. The strength of Sachs’ script inevitably does make it relatively easy to overlook such deficiencies, however, and the film primarily comes off as an eye-opening look at the undeniable rift between the hearing and deaf communities – something that’s exemplified by the latter’s prejudice towards the former (which seems to stem primarily from the latter’s ludicrous assertion that deafness isn’t a disability). And while the inconclusive ending feels like a cop-out, Sweet Nothing in My Ear is ultimately a slight degree better than its made-for-television brethren – with Daniels’ expectedly masterful performance alone assuring the film’s mild success.

**1/2 out of ****