Plot hole: Sarah breaks a mirror in frustration by throwing something against it. Then she buries her face in her arms and sobs. It remains a mystery how she managed to cut her hand so bad that it needed to be fixed with five stitches, as she isn't even seen picking up the pieces. (00:59:15)
Continuity mistake: In the first class, when James introduces himself, Johnny (the unapproachable boy) is writing slowly in a large notebook. When we see him first there are only a few lines, but a moment later the page is already half full. James tells him to stop, and when Johnny opens the book again the page is almost full. (00:07:20)
Continuity mistake: When the ferry with James lands the windshield wipers on his truck are positioned at an equal level. When we see the car going up the driveway to the school, one wiper is higher than the other, and when he arrives at the school they are at the same level again. (It goes without saying that it isn't raining and they aren't used.) (00:03:55)
Continuity mistake: When James visits Sarah's mother they sit down in a corner part of the living room with three windows. When the camera is on her, we see a dull, built-up area in the window with no greenery, but when we see both of them there are big bushes outside all three windows. A similar inconsistency occurs when Sarah returns home, but then the built-up area is behind the other window. (00:36:25 - 01:32:00)
Continuity mistake: When Sarah and James make love he asks her to say his name. During the following argument her negligee changes from one with very thin straps to one with wider ones. (01:09:20)
Other mistake: When Sarah smokes in James' office he tells her that he doesn't like it because of the fire hazard. Therefore, it doesn't fit in the picture that he doesn't react when she puts out her cigarette in the waste paper basket, certainly a serious fire hazard and worth checking even if James' comment had been a joke. (00:22:40)
Continuity mistake: When James arrives at the school the main door is made of light wood and has a window with square panes on top. From inside the wood is much darker and the panes have a gothic shape. (00:04:30)
Other mistake: On one of the first days at the school James comes jogging on the beach. He starts throwing pebbles into the water, and then he notices Sarah who is sitting on a rocky spit. That the camera catches her only when it pans over is understandable, but he should have noticed her the moment he came to the beach. (00:25:45)
Continuity mistake: When Sarah and James talk at the harbor the ships in the background appear and disappear. (01:20:05)
Continuity mistake: When James comes to the island with the school for the deaf for the first time we see him approaching by ferry. There is a van at the front of the ferry that disappears in the next shot but is back when the ferry lands. (00:02:10)
Other mistake: When James has his students over at his place they watch TV at full blast. You hear guns shooting and rubber burning. All of a sudden the noise stops and they leave, and Lydia says that the movie is over - which it surely wasn't the way the sound ended, and there is no indication that they just wanted to be nice and leave him in peace. (01:11:30)
Continuity mistake: When James comes jogging to the beach he notices Sarah who is sitting on a spit with her back to the land. He keeps throwing stones into the sea, and a moment later Sarah is standing behind him, throwing stones too. There was not enough time for her to make it back. (00:25:55)
Continuity mistake: When James first talks to Sarah in the classroom, there is a white paper banner behind him that says "What are your favourite foods?" (The movie was shot in New Brunswick Canada and this is the correct spelling of "favourite" in Canada). However a few minutes later the banner is changed. It has been cut, there's a space in the banner and it is now spelled "favorite" in the American way.
