The Mighty

This article is about the 1998 film. For the novel, see Freak the Mighty. For other uses, see Mighty (disambiguation).

The Mighty
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed by	Peter Chelsom
Screenplay by	Charles Leavitt
Based on	Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Produced by	Simon Fields Jane Startz Don Carmody
Starring	Sharon Stone Gena Rowlands Gillian Anderson Harry Dean Stanton Kieran Culkin James Gandolfini Elden Ratliff
Cinematography	John de Borman
Edited by	Martin Walsh
Music by	Trevor Jones
Production company	Scholastic, Inc.
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	October 9, 1998 (1998-10-09)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100,000
Box office	$6.1 million

The Mighty is a 1998 American coming of age buddy comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Charles Leavitt. Based on the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, it stars Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton, Kieran Culkin, James Gandolfini, and Elden Henson.

The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $6.1 million on a $100,000 budget. For her performance, Stone received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Plot

12-year-old Kevin "Freak" Dillon suffers from Morquio syndrome and lives with his mother Gwen "Fair Gwen" Dillon. Due to his disability, he walks with leg braces and crutches. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Maxwell "Max" Kane has learning challenges and lives with his maternal grandparents Susan "Gram" and Elton "Grim" Pinneman. He has flunked the seventh grade twice and is tormented by teenage delinquent Tony "Blade" Fowler, who leads the "Doghouse Boys", a bully gang. Kevin is assigned as Max's reading tutor.

Kevin and Max go to a festival to watch a firework show and get attacked by Blade's gang. The two escape into a lake with Kevin riding on Max's shoulders. Max subsequently starts carrying Kevin around on his shoulders during their various adventures. This allows Kevin to take part in activities such as school athletics that were previously restricted to him, earning Kevin acceptance amongst his peers. During a visit to a museum, Kevin uses Sir Galahad's sword to knight them as "Freak the Mighty."

Kevin later witnesses Blade's gang putting someone's purse in a sewer. The two retrieve the purse but are again confronted by the gang. They attempt to attack Kevin, but Max stops them by picking up a manhole cover and throwing it at the gang, who flee in panic. The purse belongs to a woman named Loretta Lee, so Max and Kevin return it to her. Loretta is married to former gang leader Iggy. The couple are old friends of Max's father Kenny "Killer" Kane, who is in prison for the murder of Max's mother. Max witnessed this event at the age of four.

Loretta calls Max "mute boy" because, while on the witness stand to testify against Killer years before, he could not speak a word. Frustrated, Max storms out of the apartment. Kevin eventually reminds him that they are different from their fathers.

On Christmas Eve, Killer kidnaps Max after being released on parole and takes him to Iggy and Loretta's apartment. There, Max is tied up. Loretta attempts to help Max escape but Killer catches her and attempts to strangle her. Max's seeing the attack prompts a repressed memory of Killer murdering his mother; he breaks free of his bonds, rants about the memory, and attacks Killer.

After tracking Max and Killer, Kevin breaks in, armed with a squirt gun he claims is loaded with sulfuric acid which he got for Christmas. He sprays it in Killer's eyes. Before an angered Killer regains himself and attempts to hurt Kevin, Max tackles him through the wall where the police are waiting; Killer is then returned to prison for life without the possibility of parole while Kevin and Max run home to have Christmas dinner with Gwen, Grim and Gram. While exchanging Christmas gifts, Kevin gives Max a blank book and tells him to write in it.

That night, Kevin dies in his sleep due to heart problems. The next morning, Max hears the news and runs to the ambulance outside Kevin's house. Max recalls the biogenic intervention unit of a research center Kevin had mentioned earlier where he tells Max that he was going to be the first to be transplanted into a new body so that he can live his life normally and to the fullest. As the ambulance leaves, Max chases it to find the place, barefoot in the snow, only to discover that the lab in question is actually a commercial laundromat.

The following weeks, Max continues attending school but spends his spare time locked in the basement, even missing Kevin's funeral and seeing Gwen moving away. He later runs into Loretta at a bus stop, who says that "doing nothing's a drag, kid". He takes this advice to heart and even works up the courage to answer a question from his teacher during a lecture.

Inspired by their bond, Max decides to write all the adventures he had with Kevin in the blank book. Max gets writer's block on the last page and puts an illustration of King Arthur's grave which reads "Here Lies King Arthur, Once and Future King". Max then takes Kevin's ornithopter and winds it up, making it fly.

Cast

• Elden Henson as Maxwell "Max" Kane
• Kieran Culkin as Kevin Dillon/Freak
• Sharon Stone as Gwen "The Fair Gwen of Air" Dillon
• Gena Rowlands as Susan "Gram" Pinneman
• Harry Dean Stanton as Elton "Grim" Pinneman
• James Gandolfini as Kenny "Killer" Kane
• Gillian Anderson as Loretta Lee
• Meat Loaf as Iggy Lee
• Jenifer Lewis as Mrs. Addison
• Joseph Perrino as Tony "Blade" Fowler
• Eve Crawford as Mrs. Donelli
• John Bourgeois as Mr. Sacker
• Dov Tiefenbach as Doghouse Boy #1
• Michael Colton as Doghouse Boy #2
• Daniel Lee as Doghouse Boy #3

Reception

The Mighty received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 75% rating, based on 40 reviews, with an average of 6.80/10. The site’s critics consensus states: "Spirited and sweet with an emphasis on the healing power of friendship, The Mighty is a modest charmer that comes by its whimsy honestly."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "What I liked most about the movie is the way it shows that imagination can be a weapon in life."

Accolades

Sharon Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. At the 20th Young Artist Awards, the film was nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film for Kieran Culkin, and Best Family Feature - Drama.

The song "The Mighty" by Sting was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. It won Best Original Song at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

External links

• The Mighty at IMDb
• The Mighty at Box Office Mojo
• The Mighty at Rotten Tomatoes