Temple Grandin

This was a great biopic. The lovely and multi-talented Claire Danes did fantastic work playing an autistic person. I have not seen or met Dr. Temple Grandin in real life, though I have known autistic people in my life and there was never a moment in "Temple Grandin," that wasn't believable.

Addressing the whole "reinforcing the stereotype," situation that constantly come about after films like, "Rain Man," I do not believe the films reinforce stereotypes. It is the mistake of the viewer to make general assumptions based on a single incident.

Temple Grandin shows more about someone with a psychological condition than just having the ability to persistently have a big heart as in "Radio," or "I Am Sam," (important to say that those characters were not autistic)even though they served their own purposes.

Autism is a different way of experiencing the world, but the individuals who are autistic are individuals as any one else. It would be ignorant to say that they are all savants or have special abilities, but if they are immersed in an environment that suits an autistic person's needs and way of thinking, then they can grow, thrive or fail as any other individual in society. As far as the movie illustrates to us, in Temple Grandin's life, she needed to be taught self-reliance, self-awareness, and have her potential recognized and cultivated as well as patient, loving, and understanding emotional support.

Temple Grandin's story explains this all quite well I think. Of course there is an entire spectrum of intelligence levels among autistic people, as there is with people without predisposed psychological conditions, it would be ignorant and cynical to assume otherwise. Temple Grandin is a genius, who happens to be autistic. Fantastic movie.

On DVD, a Netflix rental.

The story jumps around a bit in time but it is never done arbitrarily, and is always easy to follow. It spans from the mid 1950s to the late 1970s.

Claire Danes is Temple Grandin, born with autism at a time when autism was not yet understood. An indication was telling the mother that the 4-year-old girl should be institutionalized, ostensibly for the rest of her life, because there was no "cure." This movie, and Temple Grandin's life, shows that there is no cure, but it also shows how that cannot hold back a person with the correct motivation.

I've always liked Claire Danes, as a pleasant actress in lightweight roles, but her performance here caught me completely off guard. The biggest compliment I can give is that very quickly I wasn't watching Danes portray Grandin, I was watching Grandin. I have seen many, many great performances in my 50+ years of enjoying movies and none were better than hers here.

Julia Ormond is her mother Eustacia and Catherine O'Hara is her Aunt Ann, where Temple first was exposed to life on a farm while visiting her for the summer before college.

Temple had difficulty but managed high school, and then also college. She was unusually bright, but not in the usual sense. She could not just listen to a subject, she had to visualize it, experience it, and when she did was able to master it like few could. In college her great motivator was David Strathairn as Dr. Carlock, a science teacher. Not only did he stand up for her when others wanted to dismiss her as too difficult, he taught her that when she sees a door (a barrier) she should look it as a door of opportunity. She kept that vision as she encountered barriers, and she encountered them often.

Temple Grandin was both practical and empathetic. One of her specialties became livestock, cattle. She knew they had a purpose, to be killed for our food, but she set out to improve the handling of cattle so as to keep them calm and minimize their suffering. It is estimated that 50% of the cattle handled in North America today are done so by techniques she pioneered and worked to have implemented. Today she is a professor.

A superb movie of a really inspiring woman.

March 2018 update: I watched it again now, it was just as absorbing as it was when I first watched it.

First, I also disagree completely with the first reviewer. It makes me wonder if this person actually knows someone who is autistic. And this is the only downfall of the movie if there is one at all. I feared that someone watching this movie with little to no autism experience would take the presentation of this great story the wrong way. Thinking it may be silly or shallow, when in fact it is not. Anyone who has not had first hand experience may need some instructional guide along the way. I would recommend reading her book and the purpose of the way this movie was correctly portrayed will be clear.

My son is 8 years old with Autism and so much of this movie hit home with me and also gave me hope. It is an inspiring movie and story, and a true one at that. Time constraints understandably didn't allow for the whole story to be told, but this was a great attempt and success in doing so. It is so hard to explain to other people about the intricate details of autism with out lecturing someone on it for hours. This movie helps bridge that gap for the unaware and touches the heart of hope to the ones who are aware.

Thank you for making this movie. I read this book a couple years ago and was delighted when I heard they had been making the movie, but also worried they would get it wrong. Well they didn't, wonderful movie!

If this were not a TV movie I would expect it to be listed as an Oscar nominee. The movie is captivating not only for the exceptional acting but providing us with a glimpse into the world of autism. Everything about this movie points to excellence: the writing, the direction, the cinematography and the acting of a superb cast featuring Claire Danes in what must be the role of a lifetime.

The movie is moving in its emotional impact without becoming maudlin. The pace of the movie is quick and takes us through a number of years in the fascinating life of Temple Grandin without losing us or boring us.

Temple Grandin describes herself in the movie as "different not less." I would describe the movie as "different and great."

The cast and the crew may well be in line for Emmys and Golden Globes. If so, let no one say it was because of sympathy for the subject matter. It deserves any awards it wins for the excellence of the production values.

This is TV at its best!

So much Autism in my family and such a rinse to see it portrayed in a respectful and yet, unhappy and troubled way. Autism is not for the Hallmark Card set - it is not for the After School Special digesters - it is difficult and rife with woe but also filled with newness and, forgive the hyperbole, wonder.

I thought the director and Danes went to important extremes that were so vital to telling this great, great story.

I have A.S. and I will tell you - the moment Temple realigns the uneven wallpaper in her mind - it had me. THAT is the mind of someone outside the room of traditional music. This is a great film and Claire Danes is giving the performance of unbelievable honesty and valor. Bravo to Jackson - Brava to Danes.