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Audible
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Poignant short docu has language, teen suicide.
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Audible
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Based on 1 parent review
Interesting story and Inspiring
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What's the Story?
Amaree McKenstry-Hall is a member of the winning football team of the Maryland School for the Deaf in AUDIBLE. The team has enjoyed a winning streak lasting several seasons, but then they lose a game unexpectedly during Amaree's senior year. The film takes us behind the scenes of the team and into the lives of some of its players, namely Amaree and cheer squad members Jalen Whitehurst and Lera Walkup. Lera and Amaree have been dating, but she's unsure of their status and whether Amaree will invite her to the Homecoming dance. Jalen and the other teens are still mourning the loss of a friend, and Jalen's first love, who committed suicide. The team preps to try to turn their luck around with the big Homecoming game, which will be Amaree's last.
Is It Any Good?
What's special about this documentary is the way it respectfully treats its subjects, who are all deaf, as both nobly facing life challenges and yet also just being typical teenagers. There's a sequence in Audible where a teen boy weaves freely down a street with a friend on bikes, joins a backyard birthday party where kids are dancing and laughing, then takes a girl out for ice cream that ends with a kiss. It's both realistically innocent and all the carefree fun high school should be. It's also not their only reality, and director Matthew Ogens juxtaposes these moments with others where the kids talk about how they lost their hearing, mourn a friend who committed suicide, talk about harming themselves, or get to know an absentee and formerly drug-dealing father. Their football coach worries how they'll all fare when they graduate from the "bubble" of their school's ultra-supportive environment. This film leaves viewers both moved and more aware, and it manages to do so with respect and a light touch (except an unnecessarily ominous soundtrack -- silence would've conveyed much more). Audible also manages all this in under an hour, something more documentaries could do.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the idea of a school for the deaf, like the one portrayed in Audible. What do you think are the benefits of creating a "bubble" like this for deaf kids?
One boy admits to feeling isolated even with family sometimes due to his condition. Can you understand how he would feel that way?
How do the teens in the film demonstrate perseverance ? Why is this an important character strength?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: July 1, 2021
- Cast: Amaree McKenstry-Hall , Jalen Whitehurst , Lera Walkup
- Director: Matthew Ogens
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Friendship , High School
- Character Strengths: Perseverance
- Run time: 39 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: thematic material and brief strong language
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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Where to Watch
Our Editors Recommend
Movies and TV Shows with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Characters
Movies with Characters Who Have Physical Disabilities
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