Magnificent 7

MAGNIFICENT 7 is not a remake of the classic 1960 western, but, rather, a film based on a real-life family of seven children and their single mother Maggi, played by Helena Bonham Carter. Being a sufferer of Asperger's Syndrome, I felt compelled to watch this one-off when it appeared on British television recently.

Like in the aforementioned real-life family (mother Jacqui Jackson, who, along with her children, helped make the 2003 documentary 'My Family And Autism' -- she and her son Luke Jackson have also written relevant books, and Jacqui herself oversaw this film), Maggi has three girls and four boys. The 'catch', for want of a better word, is that all four of the boys have some kind of disorder, especially the likes of Curtis (he is allergic to Christmas and is panicked by anything that is red in colour), Christopher (he has Asperger's Syndrome, is very naïve and trusting, responds awkwardly and sometimes inappropriately to social situations, and cannot understand idioms and sarcasm), and (if I remember correctly) Davey has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The film itself follows the family over the course of a year in its 90-minute length, complete with some of the struggles as the boys cause (usually unintentional) problems and this understandably all strains Maggi a bit. Christopher, who is unsurprisingly being bullied at school, soon finds a friend in foreign caretaker Dmitri (Bruno Lastra), who somehow seems to click with the family and know a lot about Maggi herself...

While some bits would undeniably be exaggerated (something I always expect in dramatisations of subject matter of this ilk, especially when it's based on a true story), and there are some faults that somewhat watered it down a bit (including the school bullying of Christopher being a bit too tame -- I felt that it needed to be just a little more vicious to bring it closer to reality; and the other noticeable fault is that we are not satisfactorily told just how Dmitri seems to know so much about Maggi on first speaking to her), the fact that this was made and televised at all should, I hope, further enlighten the nation -- and maybe the rest of the world -- to the autistic spectrum disorders and give some indication of the problems -- and sometimes joy and surprise -- those that have such disorders can bring.

Other than that, most people should find this intriguing and informative viewing.

One click on my remote control to make my sand wish lunch at my breakfast bar more complete threw me on a middle of this social mayhem. I'm not too fond of anything way out, ugly or intolerable. When I look back at my days in the service of Mental Health, I did feel compassion but always with a dash of hope it was to repair, rather than maintain... So If you know the story of these "Magnificent Seven" (by the way, very hard to pull out for IMDb, as it is a TV play; and one will invariably get "The Magnificent Seven" Classic and its rerun! But it's there) And if you don't know, this is the portrayal of the true story of J Jackson mother of 3 normal girls and 4 boys affected in their on ways from symptoms that come under the umbrella of Autism. I missed the beginning and was about to miss the rest of it as well but the sandwich lasted long enough for the story to grab me despite my earlier comments and I enjoyed very much the rest of the story leaving all personal judgment aside...(yes if I'd be God, I think I'd done things differently) But the character of J Jackson shows that reality is as it is and one has the choice to make the best of it, and even enjoy its eventual deviation from the norms... Reading one of the reviews that appears to be from someone who was rather well versed with the real mother's persona. There was a lot of criticisms on how this TV work portrait the mother and other facets of this story. But for what I saw and no other knowledge and material to compare with I felt this dramatisation worked for me. My nursing days had their moments too, although remote from the jokes made about "asylums" they sometimes would surpass them. I did not realise that Helena Botham Carter was that actress and was surprised she was that young person I did admire very much in "room with a view" a long time ago, then was even more surprised reading a little more about her bio and filmography...What a pedigree and achievement!

Helena Bonham Carter is well cast as Maggi, a Mother of three children who are each in some way autistic.

We follow their life as Maggi struggles to cope with her children. One of them has attention deficit disorder, so is constantly loud and troublesome, but harmless really. Her eldest son Christopher has aspergers so is very trusting and cannot understand things like idioms or sarcasm. I forget the name of her other childs affliction, though it causes him to stay under the table wearing goggles and earmuffs for most of the programme. Some of the situations in this are quite funny. The script does its best to be thought provoking, at times walking the narrow line between being overly sentimental or just thought provoking. The mix here is about right though.

The inquisitive Christopher meets the school caretaker Dmitri, whom he sort of becomes friends with. Eventually Dmitri meets struggling Maggi and helps her to change the rules she has imposed on her children.

When this comes around on TV in the US or wherever, I suggest you watch it. Its funny, touching and just generally nice family viewing.