To be honest, I have never heard of this film until a few days ago, when I saw YMS react to the trailer. And obviously as an autistic person who likes to watch how autism is represented in media, good and bad, I knew I had to check it out.
The major red flag was casting a neurotypical actress as Molly. Part of Elisabeth Shue’s performance reminded me of some other cringy performances, such as Maddie Ziegler’s in Music. And that voice she did. Yuck. I think it’s a good thing her performance in this film faded into obscurity.
The second major red flag was how Molly had a brain procedure to seem “less autistic.” She didn’t even give consent to it! It’s like she becomes normal and talks normally all of the sudden. Fun fact: There are autistic people who seem more “normal” on the surface! Not all autistic people are how Molly was like in the beginning of the film. This is a perfect example that autism isn’t something that should be “fixed.” I used to hate being autistic, but I later learned to love it. Autism is my superpower. I wouldn’t be who I am without being autistic. I can’t imagine living without having autistic joy!
There’s also some outdated autism information, like the “high functioning” term. I used to use that term, but then I learned not to use it. A better term for that is “high masking” (ie: hiding autistic behaviors in public to seek more neurotypical).
Offensive parts of the film aside, there were shockingly some things I did like about it. It did nail some things on what it’s like to be autistic. Those things are:
Having a routine
Being sensitive to loud noises
Having repetitive behaviors (Like when Molly likes rewatching The Wizard of Oz, which I obviously relate to so much with rewatching 127 Hours!)
Sensory seeking
Having trouble doing simple tasks, like tying shoes. This is something I relate to a lot! I had trouble tying my shoes for many, many years.
I’m glad that not many people know about this film. If it was more successful when it was released, this film would’ve been so harmful to the autistic community. Thank goodness it flopped. Even though there were only a few things I liked about it, it’s a film that’s better to hate watch more than anything.
To be honest, I have never heard of this film until a few days ago, when I saw YMS react to the trailer. And obviously as an autistic person who likes to watch how autism is represented in media, good and bad, I knew I had to check it out.
The major red flag was casting a neurotypical actress as Molly. Part of Elisabeth Shue’s performance reminded me of some other cringy performances, such as Maddie Ziegler’s in Music. And that voice she did. Yuck. I think it’s a good thing her performance in this film faded into obscurity.
The second major red flag was how Molly had a brain procedure to seem “less autistic.” She didn’t even give consent to it! It’s like she becomes normal and talks normally all of the sudden. Fun fact: There are autistic people who seem more “normal” on the surface! Not all autistic people are how Molly was like in the beginning of the film. This is a perfect example that autism isn’t something that should be “fixed.” I used to hate being autistic, but I later learned to love it. Autism is my superpower. I wouldn’t be who I am without being autistic. I can’t imagine living without having autistic joy!
There’s also some outdated autism information, like the “high functioning” term. I used to use that term, but then I learned not to use it. A better term for that is “high masking” (ie: hiding autistic behaviors in public to seek more neurotypical).
Offensive parts of the film aside, there were shockingly some things I did like about it. It did nail some things on what it’s like to be autistic. Those things are:
Having a routine
Being sensitive to loud noises
Having repetitive behaviors (Like when Molly likes rewatching The Wizard of Oz, which I obviously relate to so much with rewatching 127 Hours!)
Sensory seeking
Having trouble doing simple tasks, like tying shoes. This is something I relate to a lot! I had trouble tying my shoes for many, many years.
I’m glad that not many people know about this film. If it was more successful when it was released, this film would’ve been so harmful to the autistic community. Thank goodness it flopped. Even though there were only a few things I liked about it, it’s a film that’s better to hate watch more than anything.
