The Mighty

In the tradition of My Left Foot (1989), Peter Chelsom directed this emotional drama of outcasts, adapted from the Rodman Philbrick's popular young-adult novel Freak the Mighty. Although burly, slow-paced eight-grader Maxwell Kane (Elden Hensen), who narrates, is learning disabled, he nevertheless ...more

Ably sidestepping treacle, the modern fairy tale The Mighty succeeds on the strength of true performances by the pituitary-challenged Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin (showcasing far more natural ability than ever displayed by his older brother, McCauley). That the latter child actor rides around on the shoulders of the former for much of the movie, together one complete boy, makes them a defiant rather than pitiable twosome, shrugging off the everyday abuses that dot their lives. John DeBorman's ...more