The Mighty
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The Mighty | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Peter Chelsom |
Produced by | Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein |
Written by | Rodman Philbrick |
Starring | Sharon Stone Gena Rowlands Gillian Anderson Harry Dean Stanton Kieran Culkin James Gandolfini Elden Henson |
Music by | Trevor Jones |
Editing by | Martin Walsh |
Distributed by | Miramax Films Scholastic |
Release date(s) | October 9, 1998 |
Running time | 100 min. |
Country | |
Language | English |
Budget | $100,000 |
Gross revenue | $2,652,246 |
Preceded by | Freak the Mighty |
Official website | |
IMDb profile |
The Mighty is a 1998 comedy-drama film, based on the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.
Taglines:
The quest for friendship is the noblest cause of all.
Courage comes in all sizes.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Plot
Kevin (Kieran Culkin) suffers from a rare, inhibiting disabillity, known as Mucopolysaccharidosis IV, or Morquio's syndrome. He is extremely intelligent and prone to flights of fancy. Max (Elden Henson) is an oversized boy suffering from a learning disabillity. He has failed the seventh grade two times. When Kevin is assigned as Max's reading tutor, they form a bond of friendship over the similar circumstances they share, such as both being outcasts and their fathers abandoning them. Later, Kevin and Max go to fireworks and get mugged by a gang of teenagers. Later, Kevin witnesses that same gang of teens putting someone's purse in a sewer. After Max and Kevin get the purse, they see it belongs to a lady named Lorretta Lee. Later, Kevin and Max return the purse to Lorretta (Gillian Anderson) and see that she is married to Iggy Lee (Meat Loaf), a biker gang leader. Then Lorretta and Iggy recognize Max as the son of Kenneth "Killer" Kane (James Gandolfini). Later, on Christmas Eve, Max is kidnapped by Kenny Kane and taken to Lorretta's home. Then, Killer Kane tries to murder Lorretta, causing Max to remember when Killer Kane killed Max's mother, which was the whole reason he went to prison in the first place. Kevin then breaks in with a squirt gun and tells Killer Kane that he has sulfuric acid in it. Kevin shoots Killer Kane with the squirt gun and Kane thinks his eyes are burning. Then Max and Kevin go home and celebrate Christmas the next week. After exchanging gifts, Kevin gives Max an empty book and tell Max to write in it. The next morning, Max learns that Kevin has died, causing Max to run outside in barefeet chasing the ambulance. Later, Max remembers Kevin and all the adventures they had and he decides to write it all in the empty book. Then, Max gets writers block on the last page so he puts an illustration of King Arthur's grave, which reads, "Here Lies King Arthur, Once and Future King." Then Max takes the old ornithopter that belonged to Kevin and he winds it up, making it fly. Then Max narrated the final sentence, "So now you have heard the story of Freak the Mighty, who slaid dragons, saved maidens and walked high above the world."
[edit] Cast
- Sharon Stone as Gwen Dillon
- Elden Henson as Maxwell "Max" Kane
- Kieran Culkin as Kevin "Freak" Dillon
- Gena Rowlands as Gram
- Harry Dean Stanton as Grim
- James Gandolfini as Kenneth "Killer" Kane
- Gillian Anderson as Loretta Lee
- Meat Loaf as Iggy Lee
- Jenifer Lewis as Mrs. Addison
- Joseph Perrino as Blade
[edit] Reception
The film was a critical and commercial flop (although some critics, like Roger Ebert, gave it good reviews). It received decent reviews and was hailed as the year's Good Will Hunting; the disappointment of the film was probably due to the lack of advertising for the movie. Miramax marketed the film in newspaper ads that included Sharon Stone's name and omitted the other cast members, including Freak and Max.