Review of Temple Grandin (2010) by Jonathan D — 10 Nov 2016

The subject of this movie came to my attention twenty years ago in Oliver Sacks's fascinating profile "An Anthropologist On Mars." Grandin is an autistic woman who is unable to relate to or read the feelings of other people, yet discovered in herself a distinct affinity for cattle. She used her unusual understanding, ironically, to develop new ways of herding cattle for slaughter, in a more humane manner, and her methods are now being used in most modern abattoirs.

This is a strange subject for a movie, but director Mick Jackson expands on it to enable us to most fully empathize with Grandin, understanding her talents, her disabilities, and the ways that she learns to apply her positive skills to adapt to her weaknesses. The beauty of the piece is that it is interested in Grandin as a full woman, telling a comprehensive story of her life which focuses on her autism without reducing her to it. We learn about her early days on a ranch, where, observing how cattle are calmed in a cage that hugs them, she eventually creates a similar device for herself - and the troubles this creates when she tries building one at college.

At the center is the terrific performance of Claire Danes. We've seen her unhooked in "Homeland" when she goes off her meds, Her character is always just barely in control - integrating with society only by what she can learn consciously - not by intuition. Julia Ormond is her caring but not always understanding mom - I remember Ormond was ridiculed in her first onscreen performance in "Legends of the Fall" but she's developed really good chops over the years.