This film is part of Rentals
Mandy
Alexander Mackendrick's drama about a deaf girl and her unstable family life is remarkably unsentimental while still packing an emotional punch.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Overview
Mandy is diagnosed profoundly deaf at the age of two. Her parents struggle to come to terms with her condition, but when her mother decides to send her away to a school for the deaf, the family begins to splinter.
The only 'serious' film Alexander Mackendrick made for Ealing Studios amid a run of comedies, Mandy is remarkably free of the sentimentality which might so easily have weakened its impact, while still packing an emotional punch. Much of Mandy's impact is due to the extraordinary performance of its seven year-old star, Mandy Garland. Mackendrick had already decided against casting a truly deaf child in the lead role: "deaf-mute children can be extraordinarily intelligent and perceptive; but they have this terrible desire to make you feel they've understood you when they haven't really," he later explained. Mandy Miller had made a brief but memorable appearance in The Man in the White Suit, but even Mackendrick was surprised at the intensity of the young girl's performance.
Related
Stephen Stephen
Drama-documentary 2023 78 mins Director: Melanie Manchot
Artist Melanie Manchot’s debut feature is a visually striking film-within-a-film, exploring mental health and addiction.
Red Island Red Island
Drama 2023 117 mins Director: Robin Campillo
French writer-director Robin Campillo offers a searching exploration of memory and politics, in this boldly conceived story of boyhood in 1970s Madagascar.
Drift Drift
Drama 2023 93 mins Director: Anthony Chen
Cynthia Erivo delivers a captivating performance as a young refugee, who after fleeing war-torn Liberia finds hope when she meets a fellow lost soul.
Drifter Drifter
Drama 2023 79 mins Director: Hannes Hirsch
A scintillating portrait of a young man coming to terms with life, love, sex and relationships in contemporary Berlin.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
Notes on Blindness Notes on Blindness
Documentary 2016 87 mins Director: James Spinney and Peter Middleton
James Spinney and Peter Middleton's highly original documentary uses cinematic interpretations and textured sound design to express a ‘world beyond sight.’
The Possibilities Are Endless The Possibilities Are Endless
Documentary 2014 83 mins Director: Edward Lovelace and James Hall
A moving and haunting account of singer Edwyn Collins’s long and difficult recovery from a stroke.
Power in Our Hands Power in Our Hands
Documentary 2016 75 mins Director: Angela Spielsinger
Ground-breaking documentary that uses archive film to tell the story of the British Deaf community’s fight for civil rights.
Disabled Disabled
Documentary 1967 14 mins Director: Vic Hughes
Paul Hunt, the Rosa Parks of the UK disability rights movement, talks about living in a disabling society.
Behindert Behindert
Documentary 1974 98 mins Director: Stephen Dwoskin
The account of a close, personal relationship as experienced by a disabled man.
My Left Foot My Left Foot
Biopic 1989 103 mins Director: Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his extraordinary performance as Christy Brown, the disabled Dubliner who became a writer and painter.
The Golden Madonna The Golden Madonna
Drama 1949 88 mins Director: Ladislao Vajda
When she inherits an Italian palazzo, a young woman takes on more than she bargained for
The Man in Grey The Man in Grey
Melodrama 1943 116 mins Director: Leslie Arliss
James Mason, Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger star in the first of the fantastically successful Gainsborough melodramas.
Morning is Broken Morning is Broken
Drama 2015 11 mins Director: Simon Anderson
At the end of his older brother’s wedding in the lush English countryside, a young man struggles to deal with his sexuality.
Whisky Galore! Whisky Galore!
Comedy 1949 83 mins Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Ealing's thirstiest comedy: "the longest unsponsored advertisement ever to reach cinema screens"?
The Maggie The Maggie
Comedy 1954 92 mins Director: Alexander Mackendrick
A wily old tugboat skipper outfoxes a wealthy American businessman in Alexander Mackendrick's underrated Ealing comedy
Red Herring Red Herring
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Kitson Vincent
Following his terminal diagnosis, young filmmaker Kit Vincent sets out to document an intimate and darkly humorous journey in this BIFA nominated documentary.
Robot Dreams Robot Dreams
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 103 mins Director: Pablo Berger
Spanish director Pablo Berger delivers a rich and emotionally engaging dialogue-free animation about friendship, set in a bustling 1980s New York City.
Stephen Stephen
Drama-documentary 2023 78 mins Director: Melanie Manchot
Artist Melanie Manchot’s debut feature is a visually striking film-within-a-film, exploring mental health and addiction.
Red Island Red Island
Drama 2023 117 mins Director: Robin Campillo
French writer-director Robin Campillo offers a searching exploration of memory and politics, in this boldly conceived story of boyhood in 1970s Madagascar.
Drift Drift
Drama 2023 93 mins Director: Anthony Chen
Cynthia Erivo delivers a captivating performance as a young refugee, who after fleeing war-torn Liberia finds hope when she meets a fellow lost soul.
Late Night with the Devil Late Night with the Devil
Horror 2023 93 mins Director: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes
Like Ghostwatch reimagined as a cheesy 1970s chat show, this deviously clever found-footage horror has scares to spare.