L'amour d'une mère

"Miracle Run" is not the first film to take on the subject of autism, but it is likely the most affirmative, and that is something significant.

I, myself, have Asperger's Syndrome, which puts me on the autistic spectrum, something I didn't know the first time I saw this film. Yet, even on the first viewing, something that caught my attention was the scene where the young Steven Morgan is transfixed by an air conditioner vent on the ceiling as he is being interviewed by a psychiatrist. This is exactly something that happened to me when I was a few years older than Steven was.

I bring this up because I feel autism and autistic spectrum orientations are far more common than thought, and I have a feeling many people watching this film have more in common with the Morgans than they think they do. Because of this, the film has tremendous importance. The Morgan twins, who were branded as hopeless when children, and castigated in High School as "retards" for their manner of speech and movement, neither were, nor are, hopeless or mentally challenged. They simply think and learn differently.

The film somewhat makes these points. Somewhere in Corinne Morgan's struggle to get appropriate education for her sons is the message that our educational system is geared only for those capable of learning in traditional ways. The film does say that once the boys have been taught in a way that connects with their learning styles, they are fully functional and able to not only be but excel in High School.

"Miracle Run" does make note of the remarkable abilities of its protagonists, something alluded to at the very beginning by Phillip watching a Superman cartoon. Indeed, even before the running gag begins about the Morgans joining every club requiring intellectual or physical skills in High School, there are vague suggestions of the remarkable minds of these two. This is especially so in one scene where the young Steven puts his hands on either side of the face of his new babysitter, as if he is taking the measure of her as a person.

The question remains, however, is what is the film's attitude toward autism, itself? Undoubtedly, this film very strongly asserts that autistic children have the right to everything neurotically children have. It also makes the argument that autistic children can display incredible abilities such as Phillip's guitar playing, Steven's prowess at cross-country, and both brothers' skills at chess, astronomy, geography, etc. etc.

But at the very end it notes the foundation Corinne Morgan founded, Miracle Run, has as its goal finding a _cure_ for autism. Obviously, the situation Corinne finds herself in at the beginning of the film, with two low functioning children, no assistance from the educational system and indifference and fear from everyone else, is not a positive one, nor one we, as a society, should allow to be perpetuated.

Yet, does this film say autistic people should be cured of the remarkable capabilities they display? Hans Asperger, the pediatrician who discovered the syndrome I have, never viewed it as a negative. In the final analysis, "Miracle Run" seems to contradict everything else it seems to be saying.

If that is the final message of this film, however, it does not make it well, and perhaps, it is more obligatory than heartfelt. The film's final message seems to be more about the triumph of the Morgan twins and the "overcoming many obstacles" Steven speaks of in the speech he gives in the film's last scene.

Speaking about other pluses of this film, its central focus is Mary Louise Parker, who plays Corinne Morgan. Not unlike the way she plays Ruth Jamison in "Fried Green Tomatoes," Parker displays an inner radiant strength, endless determination, a sense of humor, and dominance without being overbearing. The actors who play the Morgan twins as teenagers also give riveting performances, particularly Zac Efron as Steven. Efron shows great presence and manages to portray a high functioning autistic without his acting becoming mechanical. Not only does he engage our sympathy, he has us rooting for him throughout the film, something that helps the film to work so well.

The film's music is also something that caught my attention. Every so often an otherworldly chromatic theme steps in that seems to represent the Morgans' qualities of being both different and transcendent. It underlines every moment of aspiration in the film for both brothers, and at the end, with Steven's amazing first race as a cross-country runner, it is transformed into music of exultation.

This is an amazing film.

As a parent of an autistic child, I was extremely impressed by all the actors who portrayed the autistic boys. They certainly had me convinced that they were autistic! They should win awards for their work! Some of their behaviors were very similar to my child's. Mary Louise Parker and Aidan Quinn were also amazing. I was very moved by the entire movie, and I cried a lot (which I knew I would), but I also felt very inspired. This movie confirmed what my husband and I already knew--that autism doesn't have to be a sentence and that these children have dreams that they CAN achieve. I know our child will! We feel very blessed! I'm ready to see it again!

I am also a parent of an autistic child. This movie touched my heart, and filled me with hope for my already talented boy. In some scenes, of the movie, I could relate with everything that was happening ...from the overwhelming start, when the mother finds out the diagnosis, to the inspirational ending, when the boys focus on their talents and overcome their obstacles..my little guy is 6 yrs. old , but is already a runner at his school. he takes pride in all his school work. This movie is great. The actors in this movie did a very good job. especially the children and teenagers who played Steven and Phillip. Kudos to Lifetime Television for airing such an inspirational movie.

I am not going to lie. I truthfully had no idea what Miracle Run was about, fully, and the only reason I had been wanting to watch it is because Zac Efron was in it, yes, that's the only reason; a bit ridiculous, but I usually just jump at any movie that has one of my favorite actor/actresses in it, or, in this case, an actor I find attractive. After seeing that it was a Lifetime original, my expectations were crushed and I immediately fell into dismay over what I was about to view.

My expectations rose just a little when the opening credits appeared. After seeing Mary-Louise Parker starred, I became delighted. I find her to be such an enjoyable actress and have loved her in everything I've seen her in. The first twenty minutes? I had become so interested that I didn't even have any idea of how interested I was. The storyline starts off incredibly with Mary-Louise Parker portraying Corrine Morgan-Thomas, beautifully I might add, discovering that her twin sons, Steven and Phillip, have autism.

The first half of the movie is about Corrine having to deal with her sons' autism and having to study up on how to better it in their lifestyle, which this half is what gets us concerned for the Thomas family and piqued to see what happens in the second half. The two child actors are not annoying in any way as you would think they would be, and they actually inspire sympathy for both of their characters and Parker's.

When the second half rolls around, I was not bored, I did not think the film was spiraling away from the brilliance it started off with, but it indeed perfected the story and made the characters and our entertainment rise to the highest level this film could achieve. The actors' portrayal of the Thomas twins are so lovable that you wish you could hug them and never let go, and even the supporting actors help the story click and build to where by the end of the film you are left with a comforting warmth and sensitivity.

This movie would have not been as fantastic as it was if it wasn't for the fantastic performances. Otherwise, it would have been another run-of-the-mill Lifetime failure that didn't inspire or persevere anyone into thinking of it so highly. The cast makes the script heartwarming and touching in the utmost sense, and I feel like this is an underrated film, suppressed by the LMN label. I recommend this for anyone. It's incredibly wonderful all the way through, and I certainly did not expect it to be. Job very well done with the subject matter and film itself.

I love mostly all of Lifetime movies. But this one I'd have to say was my favorite. If there are other's out there going through the same situation I'd suggest you watch this movie and get inspired. Single mother Corrine Morgan finds out that her twin sons Phillip and Steven are autistic. Instead of her giving up on them and sending them to an institution, she chose to stick by their side and insist that they be taught in regular school. She was a very good and courageous mother, she didn't just have one autistic child she had two and you could just imagine how hard that would be to raise them. Later, she finds a love interest in the repair man Doug and they hit it off well, he kinda stepped in as a father figure towards Phillip and Steve. To me these twins were not your typical autistic kids. They may have been considered retarded, but inside those kids were smart in their own special way. But for the most part these kids were smart and talented, and had a wonderful and supportive mother behind them 100 percent. It teaches you that If you believe you can achieve and if you have someone in your life who is as supportive and loving as Corrine Morgan was you can achieve anything.