In the 1960’s, autistic Temple Grandin (Claire Danes) begins a summer at her aunt’s ranch which ignites an interest in animal behavior. She then starts college and that interest evolves into a lifelong career, which will allow Grandin to make a lasting contribution to science as well as speak out about autism.
CRITIQUE
To some, playing a character with a mental condition may strike some viewers as a bit of a gimmick. Luckily, though, it is usually very talented actors who take on the challenge of these roles, and that means the audience gets to see something special. This year, HBO gave us one of the best examples yet. Temple Grandin exquisitely presents a strong narrative through imaginative direction and a stunning lead performance.
A lot of biopics are concerned so much with revealing the human flaws of their famous subject, with making them like the rest of us, that it may be easy to forget that what a good film about a person’s life (like this one) should do is to get across the things that make that person unique. After all, those are probably the things that made them noteworthy in the first place.
Temple Grandin does that; even better, it does that in an artistic and emotional way. Director Mick Jackson hit on something brilliant when deciding to use editing to insert images at certain moments to mimic the way Grandin’s mind operates. It is a purely cinematic technique with an immediacy nothing else could quite achieve. Of course, Christopher Monger’s wonderful script could have already contained these moments.
In fact, add that technique to the sensitive and authentic performance of Claire Danes and audiences leave this film truly feeling like they know Grandin. The other actors are also given good characters to play, people who serve as admirable mentors for Temple. Her mother, played with an iron jaw by Julia Ormond, is the most significant of these. The final scene, where Grandin praises her mother for working with her as a child through her autism, is particularly affecting. Also of note is Temple’s high school science teacher, played by the always welcome David Strathairn. He shows how necessary it was that someone involved in Temple’s schooling recognized that she could think in an extraordinary way.
Temple Grandin is an outstanding film, giving the viewer a phenomenal lead performance and a story that is all the more fascinating because it’s true.
The film also cleaned up at the 2010 Emmy awards, nominated for 15 awards and winning seven of them on the night, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie, and recognizing director Mick Jackson and performers Claire Danes, Julia Ormond and David Strathairn.
THE VIDEO
The anamorphic widescreen transfer looks perfect in both picture and color.
THE AUDIO
The main option is English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, which gets the job done as dialogue is crisp and clear, as is the music. There is a Spanish language track as well in Dolby Digital 2.0. Subtitles are offered in English, French, and Spanish.
THE EXTRAS
Audio Commentary: Director Jackson and writer Christopher Monger are joined by Dr. Temple Grandin herself for a track that is almost as entertaining as the film itself and just as interesting. First of all, hearing Grandin’s voice hammers home again and again how much Danes sounds like her in her performance. Also, the usual information about shooting schedules and locations is back-burnered in favor of more discussion with the subject of this biopic about the reality of the events we are seeing on screen. Temple points out more than once how certain moments are telescoped for the sake of cinematic effect but the praise she gives Jackson and the rest of the filmmakers for accurately portraying how her mind works is the best compliment the film could receive. Definitely give this a listen.
The Making of Temple Grandin: At just over five minutes, this expected making-of doc is too short. The inclusion of Grandin is good, and the usual interviews and behind-the-scenes footage are still worth one look, but there could have been so much more here! It is nice to see how much Grandin was on set herself, and the intelligence of the comments the actors give only makes you wish the interviews were longer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The lead performance and the remarkable story of the biopic Temple Grandin are only part of its success. The excellent and appropriate direction also shapes cinema out of real life in a thrilling way. Owning or at least renting this film will be worth it to anyone who is interested in the story of a completely unique individual who has made a mark on the world. Temple Grandin is yet another example of the quality of films to be found on HBO (and other cable networks) these days.
Related Information:
Temple Grandin was the focus of the Errol Morris documentary series "First Person" in the episode titled 'Stairway to Heaven', which is available on YouTube in three parts.
Stairway to Heaven - Temple Grandin (Part 1)
Stairway to Heaven - Temple Grandin (Part 2)
Stairway to Heaven - Temple Grandin (Part 3)
