I don’t think Helen’s worst handicap is deafness or blindness. I think it’s your love and pity.’ The Miracle Worker (1962) follows the life of Annie Sullivan in
her attempts to teach the blind and the deaf, Helen Keller. The latter, having suffered severe scarlet fever causing her inability to talk or see, grows up frustrated without a chance to communicate with her outside world. The six-year-old girl is violent, stubborn, undisciplined and brash followed by random outbursts of things going her way. As a last chance before she is institutionalised, her family sends a letter to Perkins School for the Blind from where Sullivan is sent in order to teach young Miss Keller. Both of them get off on the wrong foot but eventually, come around and form a close- knit bond.
The way I would describe this movie directed by Arthur Penn is straightforward and raw. There is certain ‘crudeness’ to this movie with its long takes and dramatic expressions. The plot, though simple, is enhanced with the theatrical acting of Anne Bancroft who’s done an excellent job in playing the half-blind Annie Sullivan. Her character is strong, unconventional and determined and her teaching says the same. Even while meeting Keller for the first time, Sullivan pays no heed to common courtesies and begins by patiently observing and analysing the former. Her unbiased nature enacts no pity to the blind and the deaf
but rather strengthens her resolve to make Keller stand on her feet. Perhaps, the plain black and white colours of the film allow the viewers to pay more attention to Anne Bancroft and her spectacular articulation. Added with over-the-top music, the movie is not as uncomplicated as it appears, keeping the audience engaged on how Sullivan would guide Keller.
The irony of this movie is how the love and affection of Helen’s family have failed her. The parents’ guilt and pity permit them to tolerate any tantrums of their disorderly daughter. She makes a fuss at getting what she wants and shows no remorse for her surroundings. Her parents don’t think much about her capabilities because she is disabled. So much so that they don’t even try to teach her basic mannerism. It’s almost as if they treat their daughter like the doll she very much loves except now she’s the moving doll. Isn’t it ironic that the very people who should believe in her potential end up giving up on her?
That is why Annie Sullivan is called ‘The Miracle Worker’ because she really believes the child in front of her is a ‘miracle’. She herself comes from a rough background along with the chronic pain of her half-blindness, she ‘sees’ Helen Keller as someone much more than just a ‘blind and deaf girl’. Her conviction, tenacity and perseverance shows in the movie so well that the audience internally cheers both of them on. Annie Sullivan is truly the ‘The Miracle Worker’.
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