Too bad there's such a glut of love-among-the-handicapped films lately. It may have dulled everyone's senses to this modest but moving romance between a young deaf woman, Amy (The Fury) Irving, and a struggling rock singer, Michael (Slap Shot) Ontkean. Though Ontkean suffers from the Paul Michael Glaser overearnestness syndrome, he's ruggedly good-looking. Irving, whose real-life older sister is a teacher of the deaf, conveys with considerable subtlety the confusion and pain of feeling constantly on the outside. She also suggests the angular beauty of the young Lauren Bacall. Director Robert Markowitz, in his first feature film, dwells on her face too much, and the segments when he cuts off all sound, simulating deafness, seem out of place. He did, however, stage a marvelous scene for Viveca Lindfors, as Irving's overconcerned mother, and for the most part kept a sweet story from turning saccharine. (PG)
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