Review of Mozart and the Whale (2005) by Doctor S — 17 Dec 2012
Illuminating love story between two people with Ausperger's sydrome. Like many autistics, Izzy and Donald live in their own worlds while still having to cope with living in the world at large. Donald (Josh Harnett, indistinguishable from Ethan Hawke here) desperately wants to fit in with society and appear "normal" while Isabella (an exuberant Radha Mitchell) demands that she be accepted for who she is, wild mood swings and all.
Obviously a very personal project for director Petter Naess, Izzy and Donald and their many autistic friends are never a source for ridicule, and the film particularly succeeds by communicating their daily challenges at both creating relationships and leading productive lives without resorting to sappy melodrama.
The genial tone is more often an upper than a downer, these are simply people who are wired differently and sometimes need extra patience and understanding. Hartnett and Mitchell are fully convincing as these characters, and John Carroll Lynch (best known as Drew's transvestite brother from The Drew Carey Show) does a good job as Harnett's friend with skill at dispensing savvy relationship advice.
This review of Mozart and the Whale (2005) was written by Doctor S on 17 Dec 2012.
Mozart and the Whale has generally received positive reviews.
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