The Silent Natural (2019)

The Silent Natural: Directed by David Risotto. With Sam J. Jones, Tyler Mane, Vernon Wells, Marshall R. Teague. William Hoy was one of the first Deaf Major League Baseball players in the 1800’s. Being deaf, he introduced hand signals for strike and ball to the game and overcame many obstacles to become one of the greatest players of his time.

“Taking on this subject in a 2;20 minute film with almost unknown actors is ambitious. And clever techniques were used to let the audience feel what the lead character (deaf and dumb) felt. But no amount of ambition can make up for the many missed beats in the script, and the many scenes where the audience starts to feel that the actors are being less than authentic. Plus the editing of the film, which is solid for the first half, becomes progressively sloppier as the movie itself moves into extra innings.”