jagauze Arkin is compelling as the quintessential "good listener". Seeing Sondra Locke emoting at such a young age (24 credibly passing for 16), I can see why Clint Eastwood fell for her a few years later (and cast her in several of his movies). These two carry the movie but the supporting cast also offer great character portrayals. The movie is slow in parts -- and there are, necessarily, many silences (Arkin plays a deaf mute) -- but I was drawn in by all the characters' personal stories. I'm writing this review 3 days after watching the film, and it's still stayed with me. I highly recommend it.

evening1 I have always been curious about this film but found myself disappointed by how much seemed to be left out of the story.Why did the Arkin character find it necessary to pretend he was a deaf-mute? I know he wanted to become Spiros's guardian, but this extreme tactic did not seem to follow. And how was it that this small-town jewelry fixer no longer had to earn a living? Nor was it clear what happened to the gluttonous Spiros. Had he died of a broken heart when Singer tossed the chocolates out of the car? And was that what triggered Singer's out-of-the-blue suicide? Arkin played Singer beautifully. What a handsome, understated performance. Yet I found myself angry at his character for killing himself in his rented room, leaving a vulnerable teenage girl to discover the carnage. Singer had shown the utmost in sensitivity and empathy elsewhere in the film and his violent demise shattered that for me.I also found the subplot about southern racism and a father-daughter rivalry to be tiresomely one-note. Too much time was given to all this, with very little payoff.This movie kept my interest, but it sure seems like one story best enjoyed in its book form.

George Wright This movie shows the hurt that a number of characters suffer as a result of disability, race, or personal circumstances. Into their lives comes an intelligent, caring person who happens to be deaf. He helps each through the tough times and yet at the end of the day, he too had to deal with own hurts and rejections. The leading character is a young man named Singer, performed by Allan Arkin, who is still going strong forty years on.The movie presents the viewer with a number of sub-plots that become slightly unwieldy. Yet all the characters feel the ray of light and hope that their friend brings into their lives. The ending is puzzling at first but we can see that the problems of some people are often easier to handle than those who are their strength and support.A fine movie with a great performance by Allan Arkin. Cicely Tyson, Steacy Keach, Chuck McCann and Sondra Locke give great performances as well.This unassuming movie has a lot heart and maybe that's why it works so well.

denscul This film is powerful, sensitive, meaningful and memorable once you watch it. I have it on tape, and usually if I get to pick a film, I pick one that makes me laugh, not one that tells me a story about real life. At my age, I don't need that. Carson Mc Cullers as a writer can find the depths of a character's soul, and the film captures most of her talent. If you are looking for a remarkable film, this is one of the best. But I would suggest that the best place to find something serious can be found in a novel, written by an artist and not a hack turning out pulp fiction. A film unfortunately is restricted to roughly two hours, and thus at best can only be a short story. A single short story, to my knowledge has never won a noble prize for literature. The cinema has an art advantage no other art form has, except for the restriction of time limited to the limits of the human body to sit for more than two hours. A book, you can always put down, and return at your leisure.