Hamill

Hamill is a simple story, well told.

Matt Hamill was born a deaf child in a hearing community. With a powerful mentor in the form of his loving grandfather, played with grit and heart by the wonderful Raymond J. Barry, and a supportive family, he grew up different, fighting (often literally) for acceptance and inclusion, throughout his school career. Matt never truly belonged until he became an adopted member of the Deaf community at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where the film shows him growing as an athlete and a person, leading to an epic and emotional finale.

Audiences will settle in quickly to the traditional biopic formula, but in this case, the formula does not restrict the filmmakers, but rather frees them to use innovative techniques in service to the story. The practice of subtitling the entire film is inclusive, and in and of itself brings the audience together in a shared experience. Multiple layers of commentary are laced throughout the tightly constructed screenplay, bringing issues such as bullying, alienation and angst, and the need for acceptance and inclusion, into the story.

Hamill is, in many ways, the first film of it's type, and has been long awaited in the Deaf community. It's a powerful and moving true story, and we can all see ourselves reflected in it.

I know many people on here are writing rave reviews. Talking about how beautifully this film was made. And, I will agree, there were certainly some shining moments, especially with the sound editing.

The thing I had the most difficulty with, was the accuracy. I went looking to see the true story of Matt, and the things he went through. But there were so many things that were wrong (fact wise) that it's hard to know what was real and what was fiction.

I went to school with Matt, graduated in 1993. I personally know many of the people that were in the film. None of them were remotely close to their real life counterparts. Mike Rich, for one, was not even on the same page. Pat Hamill, Janet, and even Stan (his grandfather) were not given anything close to their real personalities either. And the town of Loveland, they made it laughable. There aren't (and weren't) miles and miles of corn. It isn't some one horse hick town as we would be lead to believe. I'm not saying every detail needs to be kept. But at least one would be nice. Do a little research, or at least try to make it look like you did.

Another complaint I have, is for the first half of the film, even though they clearly say he is deaf, they treat him as if he's mentally handicapped. Matt, from what I know of him, was never stupid. People weren't embarrassed by him. I always saw him as respected and well liked.

My final thought is this, the movie's message is great, and I guess that's what's the most important with a film like this. But it had potential to be so much better, and I think Matt deserves a better representation of his life, than what this film has given him.

Hamill did something no other movie has ever done. It is no small feat to make the audience cry at a movie, nor is it easy to bring a cast of actors alive to where you genuinely care about the characters being portrayed. Those are all hard things to do and are necessary for a great movie... but they are not unique.

The genius of Hamill was the ability to place the hearing audience in a deaf perspective. It reminded me of Momento. You're watching a movie and then all of a sudden you're missing a few words here and there, you know something juicy is happening, but you can't hear. In many ways, the deaf audience has an easier time following the movie than the hearing. Nonetheless, the movie was a fun story with an amazing supporting cast... ESPECIALLY MICHAEL SPADY!

I just saw that movie yesterday with my sister and niece on Wednesday night the 2nd of November in Westminster,CO. I must say it was touching and inspiring true story! We liked it. It's nice to show hearing people that deaf people can do anything they want to be succeed in whatever they do because most of hearing people think deaf people can't. Therefore, Matt Hamill is a perfect example of role to demonstrate hearing people that he have made it through UFC career from wrestling throughout his high school and that we are all the same human but but there is only one thing is that we can't hear. At that point, we are not considered a disability. This movie is aspiring to great knowledge for everyone. Well done!

This is a great indie movie. All the actors who play deaf roles, including the kids, are really deaf and do a great job. This movie is based on a true story of Matt Hamill. I was in a theater where some people actually stood up and clapped at the end of the movie and others were nearly in tears. You can't go wrong with this movie and kids like 10 and up will enjoy it. If you are a fan of wrestling or the UFC or interested in deafness, these are all good reasons to rent or buy the movie.

The two movie makers in this movie were Eben Kostbar and Joseph McKelheer. This is their first full length movie, which they wrote and produced. They can also be seen in this movie in a small role as the two coaches at Rochester Institute of Technology. Eben Kostbar even studied sign language and uses it in the movie and is fluent in real life. Look for more titles from them and their company, Film Harvest in the coming years.