Review of X+Y (2014) by Moviecritic22 — 26 Sep 2015

Art enlightens, surprises, and fascinates: Morgan Matthews's A Brilliant Young Mind does just that. When I go to a movie, I like to learn something new; a movie should provide an insight into a topic. This movie provides deep insight into what it is like parenting and teaching someone who is "gifted:" in the case of Nathan (the main character), Austism/Aspergers. Although I know that the tv series Parenthood has a character with Autism, this movie deals with Autism in a more holistic way. The movie's focus on Nathan's budding romance with Zhang Mei was a surprise and a delight because it shows that Nathan can indeed form deep emotional bonds with others; previous movies about extremely intelligent characters such as A Beautiful Mind and Parenthood make it seem impossible. I would have to agree with other critics that the ending was a bit disappointing. It was disappointing because it didn't wrap up all the questions that the movie raised: 1. how does nathan's teacher overcome his addiction to painkillers? 2. does nathan go on to be a successful math star? 3. does nathan end up being able to adapt to the world? I'm not convinced that he does with this current movie ending. The greater issue is about the "realness" of this movie. No where in the movie does it say that this is based upon a true story. Other commentaries say that Nathan is loosely based off of a real IMO student. Why doesn't the director have that written in at the beginning or ending? The movie feels like a documentary, but it is fiction (as far as I can tell). So does that mean I should question the "realness" of the portrayal of a student with Autism? Did the director research a real student/family and try to do an authentic representation or is the story somehow inauthentically packaged to make it appealing to a wider audience?

Overall, this movie was intriguing and it was definitely worth going to see.