'The Mighty', an inspiring tale of friendship and camaraderie

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): Maxwell Kane may be your ultimate on-screen misfit. At 15, he's overweight and oversized, and everywhere he walks, he has to endure the piercing stare of everybody he passes by.

"When you look like Godzilla, that's bound to happen," laments Max submissively at the beginning of The Mighty. He is never offended by the taunts and abuses from other kids and people. He swallows it all, and as he gets home, he takes refuge in a place he says he finds "the most comfort": under his bed. Max will lie there and stare into space as he goes through imaginary clouds in his mind.

But underneath that calm humongous exterior, there is a good amount of pain Max is burying. His father is in jail, imprisoned for murdering Max's mother several years before. Max now lives with his grandparents, who love him very much but can never seem to connect with him. At school, his problems pile up: he can't fit in, he has no constant companion and he also has difficulties reading.

However, his learning disability brings him a new friend who will change his life forever. Kevin Dillon, a tiny hunchbacked boy who walks around on crutches, becomes his reading tutor at school. And at their very first session, the bespectacled kid puts some valuable motivation into Max's head: "Every word is part of a picture, every sentence IS a picture. All you do is let your imagination connect them together."

As Kevin guides Max's reading through the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the two boys grow fond of each other and learn of each other's strengths and weaknesses. Kevin is an exceptionally bright boy who creates flying toys and other innovative gadgets. But stricken with a serious bone-marrow disease, his mobility is very much limited. However, the kids turn their situation into a symbiotic agreement.

"You need a brain, I need legs," says Kevin. And so he enjoys traveling around on Max's big, strong shoulders while Max's slow- witted mind gets injections of Kevin's brilliance. The two go around Cincinnati looking like a strange hybrid of a creature that leaves people on the streets in awe and scares bratty kids away.

The Mighty, which was adapted from Rodman Philbrick's children's book Freak the Mighty, retains some air of magical surrealism, which screenwriter Charles Leavitt gets from the boys' preoccupation with the tale of King Arthur. British director Peter Chelsom (Hear My Song) visualizes this by, for instance, intercutting the image of Max walking with Kevin on his shoulders with the image of knights riding on gallant horses.

Another inventive device he employs to preserve some of the story's magical nature is by presenting the film in chapters, as in a book.

This film reminds us of The Cure, a 1995 American film about the friendship of two boys, one of which is terminally ill. Just like that one, The Mighty approaches a grave subject not with superfluous sentimentality, but with sensitive sensibility. And its poignant presentation of the everlasting theme of friendship and camaraderie is fortified by Sting and Trevor Jones' elegant musical collaboration.

To keep this a kids' movie, some action has to be inserted, and that is why the screenplay has the boys going on some adventures of their own, including one where Kevin attempts to rescue Max who gets kidnapped by his just released father. The movie dwindles a little bit here, but overall, it's a complete, wholesome motion picture that enriches the psyche and uplifts the spirit.

The film benefits greatly from its actors' superb performances. Sharon Stone once again wants to prove that she is more than just a screen sexpot, showing her agility as Kevin's shattered, but brave mother. She is not extraordinarily impressive here, but at least she earns a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Screen veterans Gena Rowlands and Harry Dean Stanton also add some class to the cast as Max's grandparents, with their subdued underplaying. Meanwhile, the film also seems to want to attract The X-Files fans who are curious enough to witness Gillian Anderson playing rednecked white trash who looks nothing like the prim, educated Dana Scully we are all familiar with.

But the heart of the film is the two young stars who lead the cast.

Kieran Culkin (Father of the Bride), as Kevin, effortlessly chews up the role as the ebullient prodigy who refuses to easily surrender to his terminal disease. This film is further evidence that this boy is a much, much more talented actor than his older brother Macaulay.

And Elden Henson (The Mighty Ducks) gives a heartfelt, soulful playing of Max Kane. This baby-faced actor, already 19 when he undertook the role, showers the screen with his earnestness and nuanced performance as a cowardly lion who suddenly discovers his roar through his friendship with a disabled genius. His inspiring and flawless delivery alone makes The Mighty soar.