A beautiful, touching movie. One which, I predict, will earn Danes an Emmy and put the film in the running for best movie honors (continuing HBO's domination of the category). Those of you out there who are suckers for movies that pull at your heartstrings and are inclined to end up at Waterworks, better have a box of Kleenex handy.
It is Grandin's inability to emote due to her autism which, paradoxically, allows her to understand the pain and fear cattle experienced in the feedlots and slaughterhouses of the 1970's; insight that helped her design systems that ease their pain and fear on the way to dying for our dinner table.
The pull-no-punches realism of the script (including some graphic scenes that some might find disturbing) not only treats the audience like grownups but provides a fascinating window into Grandin's remarkable mind. Dane's performance is first rate, on a par with Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind", Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker", more powerful than Wynona Ryder in "Girl Interrupted" A wonderful supporting cast, including Julia Ormand, Catherine O'Hara and David Strathairn.
I may have to watch that. There is very little more in this physical life that I care about more than how we treat animals. An interesting concept that it would take autism to allow awareness that most of the rest of humanity ignores in themselves. I have been a vegetarian for almost 40 years and at this point cannot harm an ant intentionally...
ReplyDeleteI am like you, Chris, at least in the fact that I have never been able to harm an animal (I do kill flies and mosquitos and other small bugs, but that's it). I have been lucky enough to never have run over any animal on the road, thank god. I am heavily conflicted about still eating meat. My beef consumption is pretty minimal (once or twice a month), but it is increasingly hard to reconcile with my views about climate change (methane from cattle are a major contributor to greenhouse gases) and cruelty to animals.
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