A 2010 romantic drama, the film follows the romance between struggling songwriter Danny, who's working as a waiter, and rich young woman Ariana, who lives with Victoria, her very controlling mother. After Ariana eats at the restaurant where he works with her mother and stepfather, Danny is immediately drawn to Ariana, and leaves his number for her on the bill. However, after a few days he doesn't hear from her, and thinks she isn't interested. Ariana comes to the restaurant again however, revealing she is deaf and thus couldn't call him. They begin dating, but Victoria staunchly disapproves as Danny is poor and his chosen career isn't a good enough prospect in her view. She does everything possible to drive them apart, even as the two fall for each other.
Tropes:
- Attempted Rape: The rich guy whom Victoria tries to set Ariana up with does this when they're in her room alone. She fights him off with a knee in the groin.
- Bittersweet Ending: Danny dies after he had gotten back together with Ariana over her mother's effort to keep them apart. However, she's at least able to break away from her controlling mother and live as she'd like to.
- Daddy's Girl: Ariana was very close to her father, who died when she was young. After that, she was left with her very controlling, overprotective mother, who loves Ariana in her own way but doesn't let her live a free life. She also prefers being called Sam, the name her father had used for her.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Ariana's father died from meningitis, which she caught and became deaf as a result. The loss quite clearly weighs on her still. Danny's mother died of cancer, and he was there at her death, which clearly caused a severe trauma since he kills himself rather than have anyone else witness him dying later.
- Disappeared Dad: Ariana's father died of meningitis when she was very young. His loss was very difficult, as not only were they quite close, it accompanied her becoming deaf from the same disease he had, and also being left with her very controlling mother (who gave her little support as a deaf child).
- Driven to Suicide: Danny kills himself because he doesn't want Roger to watch him die, which he did with his mother. He was dying of cancer already.
- Groin Attack: Ariana defends herself from an attempted rapist by kneeing him in the groin.
- Hand Signals: Ariana uses American Sign Language to communicate most of the time, speaking only rarely. Marianne is her translator, though Ariana dislikes having to rely on that. Danny learns ASL too to better communicate with her.
- Love at First Sight: Roger tells Ariana Danny fell for her from the very first time he'd seen her in the restaurant where they met.
- Missing Mom: Danny's mother died from cancer. He was there when she died too, and it clearly had traumatized him as he kills himself so his friend Roger won't witness Danny dying too.
- My Beloved Smother: Victoria closely controls her daughter Ariana's life, trying to drive her away from Danny as he's not good enough in her view. She tries to dictate whether Ariana has a cochlear implant or not as well. It's indicated that she partly became overprotective because Ariana is deaf, and lost her father to the same disease which caused this disability. However, even when Ariana is grown up she still won't let her decide things for herself. Nor was she very accommodating to Ariana's deafness, not learning sign language for easier communication or having her even taught it (though she did hire a translator after Ariana learned on her own). Ariana finally rebels and breaks out of her control..
- Nice Guy: Danny is a sweet young man who has little difficulty attracting Ariana.
- Reading Lips: Ariana is able to do this very well, as she's deaf plus having grown up with a mother who didn't have her learn sign language nor learn herself. Thus she was forced to for understanding others at first.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Victoria, Ariana's mother, tries everything she can to keep her from being with Danny, who's not good enough in Victoria's view. They split up but then get back together after discovering just how she'd sabotaged things. However, then Danny dies of cancer.
- Their First Time: Ariana is implied to have sex with Danny when he's in the hospital, and it had been said earlier she's still a virgin in her early twenties due to her mother's overprotectiveness.
- Throwing Off the Disability: Ariana chooses to get a cochlear implant near the end of the film, over her mother's objections because there's a risk of complications, but it works fine and after this she can hear.
- The Voiceless: Ariana only speaks a few times, and always during very dramatic moments. Though she's able to, for some unclear reason she'd prefer not to, perhaps as a means of defying her mother (who didn't want her to learn sign language, and would likely have wanted Ariana only speaking).
