Temple
Grandin is a film about a young woman's struggle with autism without focusing
all that much on autism. It seems rather hard to explain that concept but what
I mean by it is that the film is more concerned with Temple as a person rather
than a person with autism. Autism in this film is clearly a gift, although at
times also a burden when it comes to social interactions. I would have never
come across this film and watched it, if it hadn't been a class requirement. I
don't normally like films dealing with mental disabilities, case in point I
have never seen I Am Sam or My Names is Khan and probably never
will, even though I love the actors in the latter film.
The real
gem of this film is Claire Danes as the title character. She looks and sounds
completely different from her previous roles. She had completely become this
character and has made her believable and vulnerable. The one thing that really
sticks with me is the voice she uses which adds so much to her character. Every
aspect, her looks, voice and body language all work together to portray this
character and bring her alive. Danes did an amazing job and I would argue her
best work, although I am judging it against Romeo + Juliet and The
Mod Squad. Either way this was an excellent pick for her.
The
soundtrack was also amazing and fit the tone of the film. It allowed the
audience a way into how Temple's mental process works. It added to the
character in a major way and yet with such subtly. The music envelopes you
through the whole film but is seductive in a strange way. Because it is matched
so well to the visualizations you don't notice it as much.
The
visualizations are another top notch aspect of this film. Similar to A
Beautiful Mind it breaks down the process visually as well as musically.
The cuts in between shots as she visualizes are quick and shows us rather than
tells us how quick her mind works. Every element of this film tells us
something about Temple as a person.
The end I think was spectacular and brought the film to a
broader meaning. Really the film, as I've said, is about a woman's struggle and
autism is only a factor. The focus is on Temple and not her disability,
however, at the end when she is asked to speak at the autism convention the
film validates itself. It was extremely clever. It gave Temple the chance to
validate her mother's sacrifices which we want to see as an audience. At the
beginning, the mother seems rather harsh, cold and distant, but at the film
progresses through the narrative and you come to understand what she had gone
through the audience gets a better understanding of her and feel sorry for her.
The end is a nice payoff for the mother and the audience.
Seeing the
progression of her life and how she learned to manage her autism was awe
inspiring but there were still flaws. Being a vegetarian, I did not like the
cattle slaughtering scenes and in fact I had to look away. It made a nice
connection to when Chestnut the horse and her science teacher played by David
Strathairn but was still something I did not want to see. The other thing that
really bothered me was the structure of the film. I felt it was a bit hard to
follow with the many time jumps. It was clear enough I felt. I understand the
non-linear approach but I felt lost at times and felt it would have been better
served placing scenes in a different order. The one scene in particular was
when the doctor visit happens when Temple is four.
Overall,
the film was a joy to watch, although perhaps a little long. I did find myself
checking my watch every now and then. The film packed in a lot in a small
amount of time but because of the breadth of information the audience begins to
fidget. Even with its length I would recommend it as an inspiring film and
Danes' best work.
