What the Deaf Man Heard

Plot summary

Georgia, 1945. During a stop on a bus trip, Sammy Ayers (Frankie Muniz), a boy and his mother Helen (Bernadette Peters) ventures into a bar, while Sammy sleeps on the bus. Helen is murdered as the bus leaves. At the last bus stop in Georgia, Sammy is woken up and realizes that his mother has disappeared. He takes to heart her warning to "keep quiet." He is taken in by the bus station manager, Norm, and informally adopted by Lucille as the entire small town looks after him. While the townsfolk are wondering what to do about him, Sammy notices a young boy lighting a firecracker. Since everyone is startled by the noise of the firecracker except Sammy, it is assumed he can't hear. As Sammy grows to adulthood, he pretends to be deaf and mute as a self-protective device. Over a 20-year period, he hears many secrets and confidences. However, when he hears something harmful he decides to take action, to protect the townspeople who have become his family, revealing his secret.

The Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill song "My Ship" (sung by Bernadette Peters) is heard at the end of the film, as Sammy listens to a music box.

Cast

Source:TCM

Reception

In her New York Times review, Caryn James wrote: "Nothing seems real in What the Deaf Man Heard. Instead, its soothing, storybook quality has Hallmark written all over it."

The film was the highest-rated made-for-television movie on any network since 1991 with approximately 36 million viewers.

The film received 1998 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Judith Ivey) and won for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Movie. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (Matthew Modine).