When it comes to literary adaptations, the young adult market
isn't the first place to which Hollywood generally turns. Nonetheless,
the new Miramax film The Mighty is based on Rodman Philbrick's
1993 pre-teen classic, Freak The Mighty. As far as source
materials are concerned, Philbrick's award-winning novel doesn't
quite rank up there with the works of Shakespeare. Still, the
book did contain enough interesting characters, compelling drama
and weepy sentiment to guarantee the inevitable attentions of
Tinseltown.
The story takes place in low-rent, working-class Cincinnati (Hollywood,
of course, finds so much more nobility in the working classes).
Kieran Culkin (an eerie doppelganger of his older brother Macaulay,
but with acting ability) is Kevin Dillon, a sickly genius in leg
braces who moves to town with his single mother (a de-glammed
Sharon Stone). The Dillons find themselves living next door to
Maxwell Kane (Eldon Henson) and his grandparents (Gena Rowlands,
Harry Dean Stanton). Max is the exact opposite of Kevin--a slow-witted
hulk in size 14 shoes. Like Kevin, though, Max finds himself the
object of much ridicule at school. Before long, the two 13-year-olds
have joined forces and are feeding off each other's strengths
and weaknesses. With tiny, loudmouthed Kevin perched atop stony
Max's broad shoulders, they become one united being of brains
and brawn.
The inspiration for their amalgamation is a book on King Arthur
and the Knights of the Round Table. Encouraged by these deeds
of mythical heroism, Kevin and Max dub themselves "Freak
the Mighty" and set out on the ultimate quest: to right wrongs,
slay dragons and rescue damsels in distress.
British director Peter Chisolm (Hear My Song, Funny Bones)
directs The Mighty with a light dusting of fantasy. Kevin
and Max see their daily deeds (returning a lost wallet, for example)
in terms of a colorful, epic adventure. Images of glittering knights
on horseback frequently hover around the boys like watchful spirits.
The film's coarse production design (it was shot mostly in a grubby
section of Toronto) never lets us forget the gravity and reality
of the boy's situation, however. Max is still haunted by the specter
of his father who is doing time in jail for murder. Kevin labors
under the weight of multiple birth defects that ensure a meteoric
life on Earth. The result is a kind of schizophrenic film--half
airy kiddy fantasy, half gritty kitchen-sink drama.
The acting is quite good, although some actors (like Rowlands
and Stanton) are given only caricatures to work with. Culkin keeps
his young genius character from becoming too precocious, while
Henson projects just the right amount of wounded sensitivity to
make Max work. Stone wrings a lot of drama from her earnest mother
part, but spends much of her time trying a little too hard
to impress the Academy voters. Her chest-thumping anger and explosive
tears are a bit over-the-top for what is essentially a kid's movie.
Everyone tries very hard to push this into Stand By Me
territory. Hard as it tries, though, The Mighty remains
firmly locked into young adult issues of friendship and popularity
and self-esteem. Mature viewers may identify with certain nostalgic
aspects of the film, but most will find themselves alienated by
its more juvenile elements. A gang of mid-school bullies with
leather jackets and switchblades and an administration that allows
Kevin to play sports (atop Max) after a rousing speech by his
mother are among the film's "quainter" notions. Though
young children and adults may find themselves drawn into the world
of The Mighty, it is the narrow 10- to 15-year-old market
that will respond most to the film. By Hollywood standards, that's
a mighty small audience.
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