Mockingbird Don't Sing

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Mockingbird Don't Sing DVD cover

Mockingbird Don't Sing is an American independent film which is based on the true story of Genie, a modern-day feral child. The film is told from the point of view of Dr. Susan Curtiss (whose fictitious name is Sandra Tannen), a professor of linguistics at University of California, Los Angeles. Although the film is based on a true story, all of the names are fictitious for legal reasons. The name "Genie" has been changed to "Katie". The film was released to US audiences on May 4, 2001.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film begins in the year of 1970. Katie Standon (Tarra Steele), a girl who has been imprisoned in her room (and without any human contact) since the age of one, is now 13 years old. Her mother Louise (who has cataracts; Kim Darby), has taken enough abuse from her domineering husband Wes (Jack Betts); she now has enough courage to desert him after he leaves the house. She gets her son, Billy (a few years older than Katie; Michael Azria), to help her and Katie escape their home. Louise and Katie come into a welfare office to seek benefits for the blind.

A social worker sees them and notices something peculiar about Katie. Katie is taken to Children's Hospital for malnutrition and rehabilitation, and Louise and Wes find themselves being arrested for "what authorities are calling the worst case of child abuse they've ever seen." Shortly before his trial is supposed to begin, Wes kills himself. The doctors and psycholinguists investigating the case form the "Katie Team", a group of experts dedicated to helping Katie learn to speak and interact with others. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the vast majority of the team members see Katie as merely a stepping stone to achieving their own personal goals - a pawn whom they can use to attain international fame. Chief among these is Judy Bingham (Sean Young), a special education teacher who claims that Katie will make her "the next Anne Sullivan." The only person who appears to truly have Katie's welfare at heart is UCLA graduate student Sandra Tannen (Melissa Errico).

Katie comes to live with Dr. Norman Glazer (who works at Children's Hospital; Joe Regalbuto) and his family, where she stays for four years. His family help Katie become a civilized human being. Although Katie shows outstanding progress in some things (such as learning vocabulary words and sign language, preparing hygiene, showing off anger, and certain other activities), she never really learns grammatical structure. Meanwhile, Louise has surgery to remove her cataracts and visits Katie off and on.

When Katie turns eighteen, the funding for her help is cut off and she returns to Louise's care. Soon, it comes to the point where Louise doesn't know how to handle Katie herself, and Katie gets placed in another foster home. One day, Katie is punished for vomitting, and responds by never eating or speaking because she was afraid if she opened her mouth she would vomit and be punished again.

Sandra does all that she can to make sure that Katie is handled in the proper way and even has Norman help her. Katie is taken back to Children's Hospital, and Sandra is suggested by social services to have Katie live with her. Before any decisions are made about this, Louise takes Katie out of the hospital and puts her in another foster home. Louise even threatens to take legal action on Sandra if Sandra ever sees Katie again. Sandra finally asks Louise why Katie was placed in extreme isolation before her discovery. Louise tells the entire story.