An outstanding character piece

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2001)

This is one of the few films that successfully takes a character through many subtle but significant incidents that lead to a total change in the character's attitude and feelings. To believably change a person from one attitude to another in the course of a film is a monumental task. So much of it is told in subtext - the emotional undertow of the scene - the dialogue is realistic and tells us exactly how a character feels without having to spoonfeed us. The scene where Ron returns home for the first time after being paralyzed is one of the best examples of this. The use of the recurring theme by John Williams brings the audience right into the soul of Kovic as he struggles to overcome the guilt of having killed a fellow soldier, his inner need to prove he's a man to his mother, and his struggle with friends who don't see the world the way he does. A superb film. Bravo, Mr. Stone!