It's unusual for a film to portray something like Asperger's with any accuracy, being so often more interested in spectacle over substance. This film manages to portray quite a range of Asperger's and other high-functioning autistics rather well. I think the proof of it's extraordinary portrayals lies not with me seeing so much of how my life as an Aspie (a person with Asperger's) but in sitting down with my husband to watch it and having him so often say "Oh, you do that!" and ask "Is that really how it is?" and get a yes from me.
Josh Hartnett's overall performance lacked a bit in some areas, but he had the eye-averting and not-sure-what-to-say looks down near perfectly. Radha Mitchell manages to nigh-flawlessly convey the sheer frustration I feel daily. Sheila Kelley's performance, though a small part of the picture, went far in making the support group scenes believable, and John Carroll Lynch's lost-but-denying-it performance made a fabulous foil for Hartnett.
As for plot: I'm a bit of a sucker for a romance anyway, so I can't help but have enjoyed this. Seeing these two characters try so hard to work around their autism to connect at some level was occasionally hard to watch. Every mistake they made set me at the edge of my seat, and when Isabelle's psychiatrist asks Donald to never contact her again, I shouted "No!" at the screen. And when they finally let the audience know that, after all that supreme effort, they do manage to make that connection, the relief and joy was undeniable.
Why this movie is having a hard time getting released, I do not know.
Josh Hartnett's overall performance lacked a bit in some areas, but he had the eye-averting and not-sure-what-to-say looks down near perfectly. Radha Mitchell manages to nigh-flawlessly convey the sheer frustration I feel daily. Sheila Kelley's performance, though a small part of the picture, went far in making the support group scenes believable, and John Carroll Lynch's lost-but-denying-it performance made a fabulous foil for Hartnett.
As for plot: I'm a bit of a sucker for a romance anyway, so I can't help but have enjoyed this. Seeing these two characters try so hard to work around their autism to connect at some level was occasionally hard to watch. Every mistake they made set me at the edge of my seat, and when Isabelle's psychiatrist asks Donald to never contact her again, I shouted "No!" at the screen. And when they finally let the audience know that, after all that supreme effort, they do manage to make that connection, the relief and joy was undeniable.
Why this movie is having a hard time getting released, I do not know.