Taglines: Courage comes in all sizes.
The Mighty tells the story of a strong friendship between a young boy with Morquio’s syndrome and an older boy who is always bullied because of his size. Adapted from the novel, Freak the Mighty, the film explores a building of trust and friendship. Kevin, an intelligent guy helps out Maxwell to improve his reading skills. In return, Kevin wants Maxwell to take him out places since he is not allowed out unauthorized. Being the social outcasts of the town, Kevin and Maxwell come to realize that they are similar to each other and accept that they are “freaks” and nothing will stop them.
The Mighty is a 1998 drama film directed by Peter Chelsom and based on the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. The film stars Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton, Kieran Culkin, James Gandolfini, and Elden Henson.
About the Story
Kevin (Kieran Culkin) is a 13-year-old boy who has Mucopolysaccharidosis IV (or Morquio syndrome) and lives with his mother Gwen (Sharon Stone). He is extremely intelligent and prone to flights of fancy but due to his disability walks with leg braces and crutches.
Max (Elden Henson) is an 13-year-old oversized, yet good-natured, teenage boy suffering from dyslexia who lives with his maternal grandparents Gram (Gena Rowlands) and Grim (Harry Dean Stanton). He has flunked the seventh grade twice and is tormented by Tony “Blade” Fowler (Joseph Perrino), a teenage gang leader. 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 (Kevin’s dad heard the words “Birth Defect” and disappeared).
Kevin and Max go to a local festival to watch a firework show and get attacked by Blade and his gang called the “Doghouse Boys”. The two escape into a nearby lake with Kevin riding on Max’s shoulders and they make it out okay. Kevin later witnesses that same gang of teens putting someone’s purse in a sewer. The two retrieve the purse, but, are once again confronted by Blade and his gang.
They attempt to attack Kevin, but Max stops them by picking up a manhole cover and throwing it at the gang, who run away, fearing for their lives. Both Max and Kevin see the purse belongs to a woman named Loretta Lee (Gillian Anderson). Kevin and Max return the purse to Loretta and find out that she is married to Iggy Lee (Meat Loaf), a former gang leader.
Loretta recognizes Max from when he was a child and, after some questioning, she and Iggy learn that Max is the son of the infamous murderer Kenny “Killer” Kane, who brutally murdered Max’s mother by strangling her to death when Max was around 4 years old (which is why Max lives with Grim and Gram), and an old friend of Iggy’s from prison. Afterward, the two boys help each other out with Kevin acting as Max’s brain, and Max acting as Kevin’s legs by carrying him around everywhere on his shoulders. This allows Kevin to partake in activities he couldn’t before such as a basketball game.
The Mighty (1998)
Directed by: Peter Chelsom
Starring: Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton, Kieran Culkin, James Gandolfini, Elden Ratliff, Joe Perrino, Eve Crawford
Screenplay by: Charles Leavitt
Production Design by: Caroline Hanania
Cinematography by: John de Borman
Film Editing by: Martin Walsh
Costume Design by: Marie-Sylvie Deveau
Set Decoration by: Carolyn ‘Cal’ Loucks
Art Direction by: Dennis Davenport
Music by: Trevor Jones
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Release Date: October 9, 1998
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