Review of Temple Grandin (2010) by Walter M — 26 Jul 2011

This is a highly engaging biopic that succeeds in showing the world through the subject's eyes and why it is so important to see the world through other people's eyes, aided by a keen visual sense. See, Temple Grandin(Claire Danes) was diagnosed at the age of four with autism. It was suggested that she be institutionalized but her mother(Julia Ormond) would have none of that with her first step being to teach her daughter how to speak.(Since this was 1951, it would have been especially bad if she had given up on her daughter, considering the state of psychiatric care at the time and it is implied that many autistic children did suffer such a cruel fate. All of which demonstrates how well the movie handles period details without overdoing it.) Actually, the film is a series of adjustments for Temple, like any young person, first boarding school, then going to live with her Aunt Ann(Catherine O'Hara) and Uncle Mike(Michael Crabtree) in Arizona where she shares her doubts about going to college.

All of which is complicated by Temple's unique thought process which is in pictures, not words, as she also gets inspiration from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."(What would Illya Kuryakin do?) And a lot of the movie's humor comes from her miscomprehending initally what is said to her. So, it is no surprise that her greatest challenge turns out to be not only putting her ideas down on paper in words but also communicating them to her fellow human beings. In contrast, Temple has no trouble with cows and horses, deciding to study animal husbandry. As she says in the movie, having bred cows for food, they deserve our respect.