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  Matt
  
Willis
The Mighty
USA, 1998
[Peter Chelsom]
Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson
Drama
  
A real tearjerker this one. From the very moment, before in fact, that the film begins you can tell exactly how it's going to end. This is no error however, in fact it is the stories greatest strength as it immediately serves to draw you into the essence of what is essentially a character-driven plot. You feel for the people involved and you want to help but all you can do is watch, wait and hope. Elden Ratliff is Max Kane, a slow, quiet gentle giant whose main concern is to get through each day with the minimum amount of fuss. He doesn't want friends and he doesn't want to be noticed, despite his obviously huge size. Fate, as it is want to do, conspires against him when he spies on his new neighbour Kevin Dillon, the magnificent Kieran Culkin, who is severely disabled but an intellectual genius. The two are paired together at school with Dillon teaching Kane the joys of reading and living one's life to a code of ethics. The realization that together they are stronger than when they are apart begins to open new possibilities for the two social outcasts and from this tenuous start a friendship built on the most solid ground is conceived.

The two leads are astonishing with Culkin especially outstanding, far more so in my opinion than Haley Joel Osmont, and deserves considerably greater scope. The cast also boasts the likes of Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton and James Gandolfini amongst others and this calibre of actors is surely testament to the writing talent of Rodman Philbrick and Charles Leavitt who craft an elegant 'kidult' story from the book of Hollywood cliches. The idea of two disparate youngsters overcoming their respective difficulties and forging for themselves a better, more decent and honourable life is one we can all relate to. The ending when it comes excellently wraps up the only possible outcome but even then there is a final twist, a small white lie of immense importance and the best way to ensure the audience reacts with the maximum of emotion.
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