Sound and Fury

Deaf culture is a phrase most of hearing America is not but ought to be acquainted with. Josh Aronson's film focuses on the lives of two brothers, Peter and Chris, and their families, both of whom have deaf children. Peter, who was born deaf, recoils when his five-year-old daughter, Heather, learns about cochlear implants and tells her father she wants one. (The device allows most deaf people to hear at least some sound, some of the time.) Peter says of his own hearing impairment, "I would never prefer to be hearing. When all three of my children were born deaf, I thought, great! My kids are just like me!" The value he and his wife, Nita, place on deaf culture and the practice of sign language makes them skeptical about giving their daughter implant surgery. But Chris, whose family is entirely hearing except for one son, feels that not giving his child the chance to hear would cheat him of an invaluable asset in life. Although it drags in places and some of the family-argument scenes are frustrating to watch, Sound and Fury introduces a new and complex argument to the hearing world.

-- April Green