cheezybakedbeans

Saw an episode. I could see what it was trying to be but I found it very stereotypical and lax when it came to actual investigation. Shows like this make me reluctant to get a formal diagnosis... Patience is an autistic savant stereotype, which is an overdone and sometimes harmful trope. She has magical investigative powers because she's autistic and like Rain Man or The Good Doctor, or Sherlock (the BBC version) or Sheldon in TBBT... She'll just come out with the perfect answer, seemingly out of nowhere or through an unseen investigation or obscure skill, or be able to recall any information conveniently needed with her photographic memory. And she ticks every other stereotypical trait in every scene and we're told about it (the typical male type of autism, because women who typically have higher-masking autism never get represented).

She often feels infantilised and the other characters treat autism like it's some exotic disease they've never heard of and are mildly alarmed and intrigued by... "How can we listen to her?! She has autism!" It treats neurodiverse and neurotypical people as like two different species...

Meanwhile, all the other characters are absolutely hopeless at their jobs, even though the show presents itself as a serious investigative show. They couldn't find a piece of evidence if it smacked them in the face and will do things which would never happen in the real world. The show also treats police investigations/forensics fields like they have almost no neurodiverse people or neurotypical people who are incredibly passionate and fastidiously detail-orientated... For instance, Patience walking into a crime scene (not in the appropriate gear, of course,) and immediately noticing something obvious missed... As if the forensics team scouring the room wouldn't have noticed... The same team that, in the real world, is often looking for microscopic evidence. All to go, "Wow, Patience is a genius!" It just feels like lazy writing.

I appreciate the writers probably had the best of intentions and representation has to start somewhere. Maybe some of them have autism. I know the main actress does... But the episode I saw just annoyed me.

Nicholas Winton is an incredible person. If you haven't seen anything about his life, or the clips from "That's Life" (on YouTube) I would highly recommend it. He's the kind of brilliant person that can restore your faith in humanity.

And this adaption is a really decent depiction of his life's work, even if it simplifies things a bit. Anthony Hopkins is, of course, amazing, though I think Johnny Flynn who plays younger Nicholas Winton, deserves a lot of credit too. Most of the writing is good. I definitely teared up, and I learner a lot more about him.

As far as flaws, there are a few little bits that come across as contrived and cliche in the past segments, where it's clear they're trying to use a few children to symbolise the many. In a way that short changes what he did. It makes it feel like it was a much smaller operation than it was.

It also very much goes down the heartwarming route, and it steers away from depicting the real horror and grief, staying much more on a surface-level. I didn't mind watching a less sad film though.

I think I was also a bit disappointed that we didn't see much of his life between what he did and being recognised for it. Something that is so interesting with him is how long it took him to get recognised, and why.

But saying all that, I still really enjoyed the film, and teared up, and it was a really lovely tribute to him as a person, his heroic acts and the history. I hope it's a film they show kids in history class because he deserves to be remembered.

I've seen The Dry three times (twice when it was in cinema, and once later), and read the book, and loved it every time. It's an extremely faithful adaption of the book, beautifully acted and shot... And an Australian film I loved especially as an Australian. It's rare I've liked an Australian film as much as this one. Sadly, I think, it's extremely underrated precisely because it's Australian as well. Hence me determinedly giving it 10 stars, though there are a few things I wished they'd included from the book.

I truly don't believe anybody with no personal connection to Australia can really fully appreciate a film like this, because so much of it, like the overwhelming fear of drought and bushfires that pervades it, is especially real to many Australians. I remember that primal fear as a kid. The constant fear of the droughts in the news. Harsh water restrictions. When Mum had to hose down the house and pack our bags in case we had to flee during historic bushfires. Every Australian has sat and watched horrific bushfires and droughts in the news, or smelled and seen the smoke, even if they haven't experienced it directly. Australians had suffered through six months of hellish bushfires right before the pandemic, during which this film aired, so Australians get it. It's in our psyche.

As far as the criticism I've seen that the pacing of the film is too slow, I have to thoroughly disagree. Firstly, it's a slow burn exactly like the book is so it's never pretending to be a thriller. I think it's unfair to judge a film for its genre. The book also follows a lot of the conventions of Australian realism, as does the film, and that is the style of that subgenre. It's not an American film, or a British film, and it's not trying to be.

Secondly, the pace so perfectly encapsulates the story and the environment. It's a pervading desolation that builds and builds in the town. The Australian outback is vast, dry, brutal and suffocating. The secrecy, suffering and grief of the town is suffocating. Aaron feels suffocated by how the town treats him, as he does for what happened in this past.

There are some bits from the book that I would've liked them to keep. I think some of the criticism some people have had of the ending being too rushed (which I don't agree with) would've been fixed if they'd speckled in a few more hints that were in the book. At the same time, film adaptions have to streamline some plots for necessity sake. And this is overall is an extremely faithful adaption. I'm really excited it's getting a sequel. Aaron Falk is a lead character I would happily watch more of.