Love Is Never Silent (1985 TV Movie) User Reviews

Wonderful, and sad...

[DeeJayPip · 9/10 · 3 May 2003]

I watched this in my ASL class. I'm Deaf and fluent in ASL, but taking the class because I didn't want to take Spanish. This was such a wonderful movie, and it made me cry like a baby at the end... and I never cry at movies! I've seen about five thousand films, and the only other one to make me cry was Exorcist, but this is much more sad.

Though my situation is the exact opposite of the girl in this movie (I'm Deaf child of Hearing parents) it was still very profound. It also wasn't offending to the Hearing people in my class, so that is a plus for any Hearing person looking at this movie.

If it comes on TV, tape it. You will not regret it.

magnificent

[blanche-2 · 9/10 · 30 August 2004]

I saw this movie when it first debuted and I have never forgotten the vivid performances and how I cried. I was watching at someone else's house and couldn't hold back the tears. We kept saying "Emmys all around" at each commercial break!

Mare Winningham is a phenomenal actress. The writing was superb. The scene with her mother, beautifully played by Phyllis Frelich, when her mother calls her selfish is one of the best scenes, bar NONE, that I have ever seen in my life. I cry just thinking about it.

If you have an opportunity to see this film, don't miss it. You won't be sorry.

Excellent Television Movie!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 31 January 2008]

Mare Winningham is really one of the great unsung American actresses of our generation. She is exceptionally talented whether she is playing the daughter of a deaf couple who must sign language to communicate with her parents. She is the their ears to the world and often must translate between her parents and the hearing world. One memorable scene is her at the funeral home translating for her parents and the undertaker as a child for her brother's unfortunate death. Winningham's performance is award-winning as is the mother played by deaf actress, Phyllis Frelich. Her character seeks to be independent and hopes that her parents can adjust to the hearing world.

well portrayed

[Cher-5 · 10/10 · 26 January 1999]

The story of how Deaf people survived and how a hearing child coped with Deaf parents has never been portrayed as well as this tv movie did. As a deaf person, I was able to understand the frustration the parents went through and as the hearing child went through as if I was in her shoes. The era where Deafness was not well known and is not considered normal was portrayed well. I recommend everybody watch the show. You will come to understand that Deaf people are just like hearing people.

very good

[amyontheend · 18 September 1999]

I was watching the show that came on before this movie did. I didn't really pay much attention to the first few minutes, but I looked up and young Maggie was signing. I was excited since I am taking ASL in school. I was excited because I could understand most of what they were saying. It was not only good learning experience for me, but it was a beautifully made movie. Wonderful cast, director, and believable acting. I hope my teacher will show this in class! :)

Love is never silent

[tenelshof54 · 10/10 · 16 August 2005]

I saw this film in the late eighties and it made me cry. Both my parents were deaf so I saw many things that reminded me of my own life.I wasn't unhappy but I had to make some decisions that my parents didn't understand and some of them weren't understood by the hearing people. The scene with the undertaker who tries to sell a very expensive coffin made me angry. The question of the father when he asks his daughter to describe what sound the sun makes.

She signs that the sun doesn't make any sound and he answers: But they say that the sunbeam falls on the street. So it has to make a sound. Those things made me sad. But still I think it's the best movie I've ever seen. I hope to see it once again and I'm sure that my emotions will be the same as 18 years ago.And who doesn't want to have a friend like Mr. Petrakis. What a wonderful man he was. So friendly, so patient, so very wise. A very, very, moving and beautiful movie.

this is not simply a movie

[Starbuckslovr · 10/10 · 12 October 2006]

I loved Love is never silent. I watched this movie in my ASL 1 class and it really made me think, when i went home and told my mom about the movie she told me she had seen it when she was little and it had hit home. She was the dividing line between her parents and the other non-Armenian communities, she had said she never thought anyone felt this way. After seeing the movie my mother said she had worried she would never find a husband like Margaret had, and eventually she did, through work, like Margaret. My father never went off to war, but it still makes me think. This is an amazing movie that is worth seeing, renting, anything! I learned a lot, and more than i thought would have come from simply a movie, but then again this is not simply a movie.

It was great. That's all you can say about it.

[Bronze · 10/10 · 8 May 2000]

This truly is one of the most beautifully made films of the 80's. The directing was picture perfect and the performances by the actors was magnificent. Their work was extraordinary it is puzzling to me why none of them ever got any awards for their performances. Everyone was perfect right down to the extras. This movie is truly worth paying five dollars.

Excellent TV movie

[thowen1988 · 9/10 · 25 September 2007]

"Love is Never Silent" is an emotional drama set in the 1930s and early 1940s. Unlike her parents, Margaret is not hearing impaired.

Therefore, young Margaret often finds herself acting as a buffer and an interpreter for her deaf parents in the hearing world. As a result, Margaret's youthful innocence is lost at a very young age and often does not inform her parents of the rude comments people say to her parents.

In addition, Margaret's parents, particularly her mother, become alarmed and angry when Margaret asserts her independence as she gets older.

Friendly neighbor Mr. Petrakis is one of the few who fully understands Margaret's difficult circumstances.

In the tradition of "It's a Wonderful Life", "Love is Never Silent" builds and sets the stage throughout the movie for the highly emotional scene towards the end of the film when Margaret finally stands up to her demanding parents.

Mare Winningham is brilliant as Margaret. Sid Ceaser is convincing as Mr. Petrakis. Cloris Leachman is great in this rare departure from comedy.

I highly recommend this emotional film.

need a good cry?

[joanie · 10/10 · 5 November 1998]

I love this movie, makes me cry from the second I start watching. Absolutely heartbreaking.....

My thoughts

[pinnedwings419 · 8/10 · 6 November 2005]

My ASL teacher played this movie for the class. I am taking a 2nd year signing course in high school. When I first heard about it, it didn't appeal to me that much. You know what they say though, don't judge a film by its summary. It's the content that matters *wink*. It was rather inspiring to me after I had watched it all the way through. I found it interesting in the way the late 1930's society was depicted in the treatment of Deaf people. It comes to show how far the Deaf community has progressed in the past seventy years. The actors were excellently portrayed. I hope everyone interested in ASL, taking ASL, or late Depression films gets to see this one.

Top movies to watch before you die

[biztax · 10/10 · 26 August 2012]

It is extremely rare for me to give a 10 on anything. I've read lots of books and tons of movies. But this movie, Love is Never Silent, is an excellent and captivating drama about Margaret's demanding struggles of love and shame with her Deaf parents in the 1930s and 40s. Her hard-working mother, Mrs. Anglin, carries a frustrating cynicism and grudge throughout movie until the very end. Perhaps, it was because Mrs. Anglin is a smart woman but faced many communication barriers and also struggles for her independence. Her gentle father shows his love but can be hard to please or trust anyone. The props and era setting are excellent. And a tearjerker from the beginning to the end.

I've watched this film from the Hallmark Hall of Fame several times over the years and I still can't hold back my tears and lump in my throat. And I'm a tough guy next to impossible to make me cry but I can't fight back on this one.

Hallmark Hall of Fame at its best.

[Ringo-23 · 10/10 · 16 June 1999]

This film is so good that while I'm watching it, I forget that Cloris Leachman was ever Frau Blucher! Mare Winningham is outstanding in this film. What Frosty the Snowman did to me as a child, this movie does to me as an adult; I cry every time I see it. This movie and To Dance with the White Dog are probably the best ever made by Hallmark. If you're looking for something with a lighter tone, I suggest Hallmark's What the Deaf Man Heard. It's of the same caliber, but not nearly as sad.

Good Movie, Excellent Book

[Mehki_Girl · 9/10 · 16 July 2020]

I first read the book, In This Sign, which is the basis of the he movie. I've read several books written by the children of the Deaf.

I thought this was a true story or at least written by someone with first hand experience and shocked to find out that (see far as I know) the author did not. The insight she had was almost pyschic.

She also wrote, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden ( about mental illness which was based on her own experiences).

Both of these books had a profound impact on me. The resultant movies, not as much.

The movie was good, but I would have preferred an actress fluent in sign as I found Mare Winningham's awkward signing distracting. Still it was a moving movie.

First actual movie about deaf people as far as i can remember

[jordondave-28085 · 10/10 · 4 December 2022]

Adapted from the novel The Sign by Joanne Greenberg, and although, it was made for TV, it still would have worked if the movie received a proper theatrical screening as it hits the right chords, where the theme has been re-used again in 2021 Oscar awards called CODA which swept the major categories. Adapted from the novel by It stars Mare Winningham playing Margaret Ryder the daughter of 2 deaf parents Abel (Ed Waterstreet) and Janice (Phyllis Frelich )Ryder who appears to be their ears for them, as it is not just making it difficult for her parents but it was also difficult for their only daughter as well as she is yearning to settle down. The movie came out one year before the much successful "Children of A Lesser God" starring William Hurt and Marlee Matlin.