Temple Grandin...different, not less!

I wish it was not a TV movie. If released theatrically it would have surely won an Oscar.
The movie is an excellent biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who in the 1960’s through 1980’s revolutionized the stockyard / slaughterhouse industry.This movie places us inside Temple's brain and lets us view the rest of the world from her point of view. This film gave a different view of the character in a way many other films of this sort often fail to do, it enabled us to appreciate the fact that this person is an intelligent, nuanced human being who simply sees the world differently than a "normal" person. To see Temple battle her own inhibitions and logically formulate solutions to situations which might be simple for most people but which are tremendously challenging for her is both thrilling and intensely affecting. One of the most intriguing elements of the film is the manner in which it accentuates the fact that many problems those with autism have are generated by the often inconsistent, illogical, exasperating way in which "normal" individuals conduct themselves. It's both infuriating and mind-boggling to see the manner in which Temple's masterful mental processes are dismissed as goofy, weird, and stupid by so many of her peers.

Claire Danes plays the title character and I was amazed how well she acted, she did such a convincing job that I forgot I was watching Claire Danes on screen it was as if I could see/feel what Temple Grandin is going through, this is what we call getting into the character or being the character.
Mick Jackson’s direction is brilliant, he so amazingly shows us how Grandin is able to picture things in her mind. Catherine O’Hara is great as Aunt Ann and Julia Ormond is phenomenal as Temple’s mother who is sometimes frustrated, sometimes angry and sometimes helpless watching her offspring doing something strange and blaming herself for the child’s condition.
My only complain in the movie is that they should have focused a little bit more on her growing years and shown more about her sibling and her father rather than just mentioning them once. Still its a great watch.
Do yourself a favor go watch this movie.
Happy watching☺

Watch Temple granding receiving Emmy Award:


Emmys: Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Directing, Actress (Danes), Supporting Actor (Strathairn), Supporting Actress (Ormond). Golden Globe: Best Actress (Danes).