Jeffrey Teegarden

Sublime in so many ways, rarely has there been a story so genuine, so lovingly crafted, so expertly depicted. The Rossi family may be fictional, but couldn’t be more real - a complex, lovingly dysfunctional, emotionally taxing quartet, seemingly mired in an inner-world missing one important sense - the ability to hear - except for the hearing daughter, Ruby - torn between her own yearnings and a lifelong sense of duty - to remain their bridge to a world of sound. It is exceedingly rare for a performance to master so many disparate nuances as that which Emilia Jones has accomplished. You will believe every fiber of her story…the signing, the singing - and likely not so silently cheer for her (and her family) to achieve a happily-ever-after outcome!

Earnest and intended to be gritty, but largely formulaic, partly suffering from self portrayal by Audie Murphy ten years too old. Reasonably stark and authentic for battle action, by 1955 standards, but any grittiness is offset by starchy dialogue and largely bloodless battle scenes. Particularly stereotyped are the indistinguishable Germans suffering the consequences of the U.S charge. Interestingly, David Jansen in a support role sticks out like a sore thumb - MUCH more natural in style than his fellow actors.