As Good As It Gets

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Because I have two young autistic boys (6 and 4), I was curious to see how an autistic child was portrayed in a film. It was superbly done. Props to Taylor Richardson for her acting skills.This is a movie about two families. The first is a small, broken family of two orphaned sisters; the elder (Jack, 18) wants to do anything to be with her younger sister. Even if it means breaking the law.The second family revolves around 11-year-old Glory who is autistic and essentially non-verbal; the entire family is impacted by these difficulties. As the movie progresses, you get a glimpse of the daily experiences in the family: therapy appointments, school challenges, bedtime struggles, food issues, sensory drives and distractions, the neurotypical child getting less attention because the autistic one needs more, spousal exhaustion and conflict, and the joy of the seemingly small achievements that are years in the waiting.Jack is well written and her background provides the perfect plot for showing a character experiencing an autistic child for the first time. Kay (the mother) might come across as weird and overprotective, but I think most mothers of autistic children would relate to her; I do (although Kay's verbal filter seems to be lacking).There is only one part of the movie that I HATED. Kay has a brief conversation with another mother whose child has transitioned to mainstream school and Kay uses the word "recovered." It blaringly revealed how Kay believes autism is a disease that needs to be healed or disorder that has an end. This fallacy is never addressed. (Please have patience with me.) People who have autism have a variety of challenges that neurotypical people do not, however all people have to learn how to cope with life in their own way; some autistic people just need guidance finding ways to deal with things that regular people figure out without having to be directly taught. For example, spoons: Neurotypical people quickly learn to abide spoons because of classical conditioning (spoon leads to food/reward); some autistic people find the spoon itself to be too much of a distraction/torment and the food not enough of a reward. (Ok. I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks.)Enjoy the movie. It is a very unique drama.

I've been longing to watch AnnaSophia Robb to act something like this. She's the girl that I remembered acting in The Carrie Diaries and Race to Witch Mountain. Certainly, Jack of the Red Hearts will gave her the promising career. I just love her acting here, a lawbreaker and then turns into someone that has a big heart and a sense of responsibility to her sister and Glory, the autistic child.Her character as a lost teenager who seems clueless about the future and want things like "right here, right now" and couldn't care the consequences were really depicting the struggle of most teenagers. It is true, the best teacher in life is by experienced.This is a kind of movie that may makes you think after you watched it. Based on my reading, if we do good to others, we will only feel good within ourselves. It means, the virtue of doing good it's not only impacting the person who receive the kindness, but the givers will feel it the most. It'll change themselves to be a better person.Charity or volunteerism works may altered the problematic teenager to be a better person and ease their transition to be a young adult.In overall, every characters in this movie worked out well. Not a single wasted scene in this movie. Certainly, this is a kind of movie that will makes your heart kinda heavy and really feel the struggle of the characters in this movie.I really enjoy this movie. 10/10!

I recently reviewed a French film called 'Marie's Story', and that led me to check out another masterpiece 'The Miracle Worker'. I loved both the films which are based on the real story that sets around the same time, but in the different continents. This was inspired by those two, other than that there's no connection. In fact they have given a credit by mentioning the Hollywood version. Only a similar theme, but the plot revolves differently. Like it gives an insight of some misconception on the autism.It was actually about a 18 year old rebellious girl Jack, who meets a child with autism. After her young sister was taken away by the child service, she plans to fight back for her custody as they were promised to their mother that they would stay together. Now all she has to do is to find a job, but for her criminal record, she has only one way to get one and she pushes for it. So the story begins when the struggle for her sister guide for a new and unexpected life for both her and the family she meets.The major misunderstanding is it is not all about autism, it was only a part of the story. But the original tale is about a girl whose life transformation from the teenhood to the adulthood. You could say it is a kind of mix of coming-of-age and self-discovery. The phase of that life is very crucial, especially for those who had lost their parents and struggling to find their own place in the society. So the learning process comes from their own experience than anybody's guidance. In that perspective, it was a beautiful and a simple family drama that inspires us. It was not based on the real story, but a very close to one, that's how it leaves the expression on the audience."Just felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and served on a cracker."The girl who played the role of an autistic child was good, not fully impressed, but the effort was highly appreciable. As I said the story's focus was on AnnaSophia Robb, though Famke Janssen has given a decent performance too. Most of the human inventions were the accidents and so the most of the relationships. It is until they meet, the right person for each, then their life would be changed forever. Like perhaps Annie-Helen and Marie-Marguerite from the films I mentioned in the first paragraph.The human bond is very unique, but moving to the modern world's society, the rules have kept changing on treating the individuals because of the status of their life. So for the orphans, especially in the first world countries not easy to tackle such situation. This film highlights some of the issues, where and how the teenagers are getting lost.Love and care are what most essential for the children, that's what family is for and with that kind of support they will achieve good things in life. But not the same case for the orphans who're treated as some kind of robots and forced to do against their will. It is good for their future, but a messed up system and its officials behaving badly like handling a prisoner. That's how Jack looks at from the perspective of her own life, until she meets a family who seek her help and realises the life is not as complicated as it looks, but we've to opt a right path to travel which needs a great sacrifice on the way to accomplish.It is a very good message film. When one fails to realise, just let them to experience themselves until they come to realise. Sometimes it will be too late to begin again, but nothing is impossible. It is very sad that the film is undiscovered by many. It is no masterpiece, but the quest was very clear to depict the world from the teenager's perspective about how they look at the society, especially the system that laid eyes on them when no other eyes are looking after them. I Highly recommended it, especially for the drama fans and the family audience. Perhaps it might be one of the must see from the last year.8/10

Greetings again from the darkness. Being the parent of an autistic child carries challenges that require incredible patience and love and extraordinary effort. Writer Jennifer Deaton and Director Janet Grillo (Fly Away, 2011) deliver an insightful and interesting look at these challenges through the eyes of two parents, their autistic daughter, their teenage son, and the in-home caregiver they hire.The film begins with a glimpse of what appears to be two different worlds: a street wise teenage girl helping her younger sister "escape" from a foster home, and two beaten down parents of a young autistic daughter. Soon enough, these two worlds collide and Jack/Jacqueline/Donna is hired by the parents to be a live-in companion for their daughter. The parents are so desperate for help that they fall for the savvy con being played by Donna.None of what happens is surprising … Donna turns out to have a knack for helping autistic Glory, the parents begin to experience a bit more happiness, the teenage son develops a crush on Donna, and the cloud of truth is constantly hovering. Even though some of the scenes are bit corny, for the most part the story is told in a grounded manner that allows us to connect with all of the characters – conveying the pressures, stress and periodic moments of breakthrough.The acting is strong throughout. Taylor Richardson (A Most Violent Year) is exceptional as the autistic Glory. She is believable and never goes beyond what fits for the character. Famke Janssen and Scott Cohen are solid as the parents, and Israel Broussard shows real promise as teenage Robert/Bobert. Donna/Jack's younger sister has limited screen time, but Sophia Anne Caruso (Brigitta in TV's live version of The Sound of Music) makes it work. Shouldering much of the film is Anna Sophia Robb (Bridge to Terabithia, The Way Way Back) as Jack/Donna. She does her best work in the second half of the film, as her initial tough-girl stint is a bit shaky. However her scenes with Glory are outstanding, and it's a pleasure to watch her slowly turn over a new leaf.As strong as the cast is, much of the credit goes to director Grillo (ex-wife of David O. Russell) who has a real understanding of the world of autism, and keeps us focused on importance of family, the need to be loved, and the rewards of finding one's place in the world.