Molly

(Credit IMDb) A bachelor becomes the unwilling guardian of his autistic, retarded sister; then an experimental treatment works a dramatic change in her brain and his attitude.

This movie is quite sentimental and sweet, but it's not quite skilled enough to do what it aspires to be. The storyline itself was actually rather endearing. I felt Elisabeth Shue did a decent job playing a mentally challenged autistic girl, and transitioned very effectively to a smarter person. Portraying an autistic person isn't easy. Elisabeth Shue is far from the problem here. She struggles a bit sometimes, but considering it was a huge leap for her dramatically, I feel she deserves props. It gets a bit too ambitious in the second half, not to mention I had a hard time warming up to the main lead (Aaron Eckhart) There was just something about him that felt off to me, despite OK chemistry with Shue. It tries to go for the typical heartbreaking finale which is full of sap and sentiment, but I found it to be way too conventional. I also thought the love story between Elisabeth Shue and Thomas Jane was slightly contrived. It didn't feel real to me, and I thought it was just thrown in there for the sake of it. It tries to be a sad, thought provoking film, but fails. It's certainly keeps your attention, but it's not as powerful as it likes to believe it is.

5.8/10

This is a touching, bittersweet and wonderful film about an autistic woman who gains full use of her cognitive reasoning through an experimental procedure. Molly (Elizabeth Shue) is a 28 year old autistic who has been institutionalized much of her life. When the institution closes, she is left in the care of her self absorbed brother Buck (Aaron Eckhart). She is recommended for a new experimental procedure which transforms her into a normal young woman. As the story unfolds we see her grow from a child into a woman with many sweet and funny moments resulting from Molly's view of the world through childlike eyes. As her relationship with her brother grows, his transformation is as dramatic as hers.

The film was charmingly done with a coming of age quality about it. There were numerous comical and heart warming moments resulting from Molly's misperception of a world she is trying to make sense of.

The only thing working against this film is the fact that this ground has been retraced in so many ways that it suffers from the tendency to compare it to other films. It has elements of ‘Flowers for Algernon', ‘Rainman', ‘At First Sight' and ‘Awakenings'. It is difficult for a film to be fully appreciated when the viewer is mentally comparing it to all these other stories. That is a pity in this case because this really is a lovable story in its own right.

Elizabeth Shue gives us marvelous performance as Molly. Her portrayal of autism is realistic and endearing. She is so childlike that you really sense that she has the mind of a 3 year old. Later, as she transitions to the mind of an adult, she retains that childlike naiveté that gives the character a purity and wisdom that is fresh and free from cynicism. It was a wonderful performance that regrettably will not be seen by many since this film lives in obscurity as a single facing on the rental shelves.

I rated Molly an 8/10. On an emotional level, I really enjoyed it more than that, but I felt compelled to subtract a couple of points for lack of originality. However, if you enjoy human interest stories this one will certainly touch your heart.

The story may not be original, but it was Elisabeth Shue's performance that captivated me. I am surprised she didn't get more acclaim. Molly is such a difficult character to play and Elisabeth's acting was supurb and incredibly believable. I was just made an even bigger fan of her work.

Loosely cribbed from Daniel Keyes' novel "Flowers for Algernon" this moist tale follows experimental surgery subject, Molly who overcomes autism only to regress as the procedure's effects fade. We're supposed to realize that, the mentally disabled are people to - and have something to teach us. But this ham fisted tale ends up communicating a less profound message more along the lines of - some of them like to obsessively line up shoes.

I recently rented Molly and i loved it. Mainly because of Jill Hennessy but also because of the character Molly. After about 30min thru the movie you start to think about how it will feel like being autistic then Molly eventually tells how it feels. The movie is funny, dramatic, interesting and a very beautiful movie. The only thing that i did not like about the movie is the ending.