In 19th-century France, a man takes his deaf and blind daughter Marie Heurtin to an institute where she may learn how to live and to communicate. There, Sister Marguerette wins her trust and teaches her how to express herself.
Milks the tears in the home stretch, making little effort to hold the melodrama at bay. The result is a story that everyone can feel great about feeling terrible about.
At its most provocative, it suggests a tension between spirit and flesh in the nun's maternal feelings. Rather than examine that friction, Améris pushes the narrative in predictable directions.
Améris keeps the film tightly focused on the relationship between the two talented actresses, occasionally drawing back to contrast Marie's turbulent early days with the beauty of the French countryside.
Though based on a remarkable true story, this clichéd tear-jerker is barely interested in Marguerite's revolutionary teaching methods, focusing instead on the intensity of her connection to Marie.
Both [stars] have radiant smiles, illuminating every moment of understanding or empathy. Their rapport warms the movie as surely as the opening scene's sun.
France's answer to The Miracle Worker, Marie's Story is also based on real events, and it is just as much the story of the girl's resolute teacher-like Helen Keller's Annie Sullivan.
