A summary of Peter Chelsom's The Mighty
Based on Rodman Philbrick's novel Freak the Mighty, Peter Chelsom's film The Mighty is a tragic but uplifting tale told through the eyes of 14-year-old Maxwell Kane (Elden Henson), a perpetual seventh grader who is constantly teased and bullied because of his enormous size, pacifist nature, and learning disabilities.
Max has lived with his grandparents— whom he calls Gram (Gena Rowlands) and Grim (Harry Dean Stanton)— ever since he witnessed the murder of his mother at the hands of his father, Kenny "Killer" Kane (James Gandolfini), nine years ago.
Max's life changes forever when Gwen Dillon (Sharon Stone) moves into the neighborhood with her son Kevin (Kieran Culkin), also known as "Freak." Kevin suffers from Morquio's Syndrome, an almost always fatal disease that causes the bones to stop growing while the internal organs continue to grow, and he can only walk with the help of crutches and leg braces. However, what Kevin lacks in physical strength, he makes up with a brilliant mind.
Assigned to be Max's reading tutor, Kevin opens Max's mind to the world of the imagination using the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Seizing upon their outcast statuses as badges of honor, Max and Kevin find their calling when, on a lark, Max hoists Kevin onto his shoulders, forming a single unit (just like "Master Blaster" in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome). In Max's words: "It was like he became my brain. And I became his feet."
Imagining themselves as a knight called "Freak the Mighty," the pair go about Cincinnati, rescuing maidens (actually, abused wives), slaying dragons (actually, the local punks known as the Doghouse Boys), and walking high above the world.
Their friendship is tested when grim reality causes their imaginary world to crash around them, first by Kevin's hospitalization, and then by the parole and return of Max's murderous father.
By the time it is all over, "Freak the Mighty" will be no more, and Max must learn to deal with some devastating— and important— life lessons.
The Mighty also stars Gillian Anderson as "Loretta Lee," Meat Loaf as "Iggy," and Joseph Perrino as "Blade Fowler."
Return to "The Mighty" fan page.