Hamill

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 came to this movie hoping to inspire my eight year-old son, who has a reading disability. I don't like wrestling, although I enjoy other sports, but mostly movies, while my son loves both watching films and pro wrestling. The special relationship between Matt and his grandfather really made an impact on my son and I. A very well-made, well thought-out film, which I would recommend to anyone. We were fortunate to see this yesterday as part of a film festival, in which both the deaf director and deaf star were present for a very illuminating question-and-answer period afterwards. In conclusion, both people, through their work, were able to show what the deaf and wrestling worlds are really like. I hope to see more of the director's work in the future and wish for her the very best.

I have been fan of the UFC for some years now, it has some great characters, some of the fighters did it the real hard way to get to the top of the sport, and The Hammer is one of them! I grew up with my cousin who was born deaf, so I sort of know what Matt had to deal with, but like Matt my cousin was great at most things he had a go at, my cousin even got married and has 3 beautiful kids, something I never got the courage to do! What I liked about this film was that there was a lot of effort put in to try and make you feel and see what it must be like to be deaf, the story flows at a nice pace, and has a solid cast.

Give this film a go, even if you are not into MMA, you will still feel like a champ watching Matt become The Hammer! A solid 8 out of 10, HI5

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.

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.