This is a movie about a woman who was born with autism. However, before you dismiss it, its not really about autism. It is about things everyone can relate to, social awkwardness, overcoming resistance, difficulty communicating, achievement, hard work, school, purpose and most importantly – love. This movie has an IDBM rating of 8.2 and I might rate it higher.
It is a true story and my daughter heard Ms. Grandin speak in person recently. Clare Danes plays the title character and you will recognize several other actors in the film, all of which were excellent in their roles. The plot begins rather slowly as most good movies do in order to properly develop the characters. It is necessary to understand what autism is and particularly from the parents perspective. In this movie, Temples mother’s refusal to give up on her daughter and follow horrible wrong advice of medical professions in the sixties made all the difference for Temple. That is a key part of the love story this movie depicts.
The setting opens in New England, but transitions to Texas where most of the film is set. It uses appropriate flashbacks to explain and tell the story with interest and illustration. In true stories the old adage, “truth is stranger than fiction,” usually bears out and this is no exception. Without giving anything away, the setting becomes very interesting and surprising through the end.
There are a lot of characters and as you might expect many are bullies who don’t care or understand anyone who is different in the least. We all have experienced bullying and/or other forms of adversity, but as hard as it seems, suffering does produce perseverance, character and hope. (Rom. 5:3-4) The protagonists in this film are also interesting and there seems to be no lack of them as the story unfolds. Someone said, “A truly great person is measured by the strength of their adversaries.” I believe there was a lot of sovereignty illustrated in the story though coincidence and happenstance is not really highlighted that much in the telling. If we could objectively looked back over our own lives I think there would be meetings, events, opportunities, even failures that influenced the course of our lives for good purposes. These are standard features of movies about true stories. I believe anyone would like this movie even though it has no chase scenes, fight scenes, or sex scenes. It was a good story in an interesting setting about characters you like and most importantly it makes you feel good at the end.
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