Asperger's syndrome is an impediment, but people can live normal lives with it. If this were the premise of the movie, it would have been much more refreshing. Instead, it seems to be showing us a portrait of people with uncontrolled aspects of the disorder, so grossly exaggerated to the point that these people look like a bunch of freaks, rather than people trying to live with their disorder. That's too bad, because this movie really had an opportunity to reach a lot of people.
I know Aperger's Syndrome, because I have it. Yes, there are some characteristics of the disorder that need to be recognized and toned down. Some of them can be irritating and a turn-off to people. Sometimes the tendencies are unusual intense interest in certain topics, not recognizing when to leave things alone, failing to read body language, taking things too literally, and not noticing things or subjects that people aren't interested in. Okay. Not everyone with it is a person who irritates the heck out of people without Asperger's. I wonder how many of us so-called "aspies," will find this movie to be insulting or even infuriating.
None of the support group scenes in this story work. There is very little discussion about the problems and social difficulties that people with Asperger's have. No talk about behavior modification or improving the lives of the people involved. It looks more like a hangout for social rejects, rather than a support group. For crying out loud, why wouldn't anyone with Asperger's be insulted by a movie like this?
The love story is never really developed, but simply rushed into. We see a physical attraction between these two characters, but no chemistry. There is no real dialog about anything except their disorder, and nothing to convince us that their attraction is any more than physical. Frankly, Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell give these two characters better performances than they really deserve. Ron Bass did a wonderful job of writing the screenplay "Rain Man." Did he realize that people with Asperger's are much higher functioning? It didn't seem that way in this movie. So two people with an impediment can fall in love, so what?
I know Aperger's Syndrome, because I have it. Yes, there are some characteristics of the disorder that need to be recognized and toned down. Some of them can be irritating and a turn-off to people. Sometimes the tendencies are unusual intense interest in certain topics, not recognizing when to leave things alone, failing to read body language, taking things too literally, and not noticing things or subjects that people aren't interested in. Okay. Not everyone with it is a person who irritates the heck out of people without Asperger's. I wonder how many of us so-called "aspies," will find this movie to be insulting or even infuriating.
None of the support group scenes in this story work. There is very little discussion about the problems and social difficulties that people with Asperger's have. No talk about behavior modification or improving the lives of the people involved. It looks more like a hangout for social rejects, rather than a support group. For crying out loud, why wouldn't anyone with Asperger's be insulted by a movie like this?
The love story is never really developed, but simply rushed into. We see a physical attraction between these two characters, but no chemistry. There is no real dialog about anything except their disorder, and nothing to convince us that their attraction is any more than physical. Frankly, Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell give these two characters better performances than they really deserve. Ron Bass did a wonderful job of writing the screenplay "Rain Man." Did he realize that people with Asperger's are much higher functioning? It didn't seem that way in this movie. So two people with an impediment can fall in love, so what?