Alexander Mackendrick was chiefly known for his wry comedies (The Man in the White Suit, Whisky Galore); this 1952 film was one of his rare forays into drama, and it shows him the master of an understated but highly charged style. What seems at first a typical problem drama of the period--a mother's attempts to secure some kind of education for her deaf daughter--is revealed as only the central image in a more general evocation of the failures of communication in the British family structure. The vivid performances Mackendrick elicits from his players (Phyllis Calvert, Mandy Miller) combine with a subjective camera style to create one of the few emotionally demanding experiences in the British cinema.

Excerpt from Dave Kehr review at the Chicago Reader located HERE.