Temple Grandin

Plot synopsis:
The film follows Temple Grandin's (Danes) life, providing background through a series of flashbacks. As a child, Grandin is uncommunicative and prone to tantrums and is diagnosed with autism. The medical consensus at that time was that autism is a form of schizophrenia resulting from insufficient maternal affection. Despite recommendations to place her in an institution, Grandin's mother (Ormond) hires therapists and works to help her daughter adapt to social interaction.
As a teenager, Temple travels to her aunt (O'Hara) and uncle's ranch to work. She observes cows being placed into a squeeze chute to calm them, and, during an anxiety attack, she uses the chute to calm herself. Inspired by her teacher, Dr. Carlock (Strathairn) to pursue science, she is admitted to Franklin Pierce College where she develops an early version of the squeeze machine to calm her during stressful times. Her college misinterprets the use of the machine as a sexual act and forces her to remove it. In response, she develops a scientific protocol to test subjects' reactions to the machine, proving it to be a purely therapeutic device. Grandin graduates with a degree in psychology and pursues a master's degree in animal science.
Temple faces sexism while attempting to integrate into the world of cattle ranching but ultimately designs a new dip structure designed to allow cattle to voluntarily move through rather than being forced. Initially, the device works as intended, and garners favorable coverage in local press, but ranch hands, not understanding her design, dismissively alter it, resulting in the drowning of several cows. Angered, Grandin visits Carlock, and leaves the meeting encouraged to continue her efforts to improve the industry.
The conclusion of the film depicts an autism convention that Temple and her mother attend. Given the rudimentary state of autism research, the speaker cannot answer many questions from the audience, but Temple speaks out from the crowd explaining how she has adapted. Temple also describes her mother's contributions to her success. Excited by the opportunity to hear from someone with real experience, the audience calls her to the podium, marking Temple's transition into autism advocacy.

Tags: inspiring, psychedelic, cruelty, romantic, flashback

Review:
I'm a parent of a child with high-functioning autism, and while my child's condition isn't nearly as severe as Ms. Grandin's, I was touched and awed by the portrayal in the film on a deeply personal level and as a fan of film.Not once during the entire film was I able to sit back and say, unequivocally, that's Claire Danes on the screen.
Not once, because that was not Claire Danes - it was Temple Grandin, or at the very least what we saw on the screen was %99.999 the character brought to life with an unbelievably immersive portrayal of Ms. Grandin by Ms. Danes.I've seen those looks, those pensive stares filled with wonder and awe and fear but on a level so completely foreign to those of us who do not have autism.
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.
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.
I feared that someone watching this movie with little to no autism experience would take the presentation of this great story the wrong way.
It does a great job of letting you see the world through the eyes of Temple Grandin.I've seen the real Temple in documentaries and such several times, and although Claire is too good looking - she does a great job of capturing what it is like to be Temple.The movie is intense and I almost felt like I was experiencing the world the way Temple would.
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.
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.
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.
It hurts to know this film is not nominated for a Best Picture Oscar nor Danes for Best Actress, for which I believe she would and should win -- the acting demands of her performance exceeding Dustin Hoffman's in "Rain Man." She had more emotional and intellectual notes to play and she played them to perfection.
As for the film, it touches on the subject of life and death, not only for animals but humans as well in a searingly raw and truthful way, much as my own mother, suffering from dementia at her deathbed asked me, "After I die, then what?" Dane's performance reminded me of Patty Duke's in "Miracle Worker" in which the entire performance transcended the craft into pure belief.
TEMPLE GRANDIN has a committed following group of admirers of fine film making: the reason the group is not larger is that this little film is a 'made for TV' movie and that at times puts it into the 'inconsequential' category in people's minds.
While there have been other films that deal with the various forms of autistic behavior ('Adam', 'Rainman', 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape', I am Sam', 'The Other Sister', 'Forest Gump', 'Little Man Tate' to name a few of the better known ones), few succeed on the level of this beautifully written adaptation of autobiographical books by the title character Dr. Temple Grandin (adapted by Christopher Monger and Merritt Johnson).
Claire Danes BECOMES Temple Grandin, so fine is her acting and her ability to bring the audience (and the cast of characters) into the inner workings of the autistic mind.
It is an astonishing performance of a mute four year old girl encouraged by her mother (Julia Ormond), her aunt (Catherine O'Hara), and one particular science teacher Professor Carlock (David Strathairn) who teaches her that doors (a common thread throughout the film) are meant to be opened because opportunity lies beyond.
How Temple progresses from special schools, learns to build a hugging machine that supplies the lack of embraces she apparently missed as a child, and becomes obsessed with the inhumane treatment of cattle in her observations of ranches and slaughter houses in Arizona, leads her to earning not only a college degree, but also a Masters and a PhD in Animal Husbandry.
Throughout the movie Claire Danes maintains her character's idiosyncrasies and her reaction to the frightening world around her with such credibility that she takes us with her on a journey of understanding the miracles that can happen with the minds of autistic people: no one thinks outside the box in a more positive manner than does Temple Grandin.
And I laud the rare individuals in her life who looked past the "handicap" the rest of society saw helped her along the way.While a few reviews feel this was a trite movie, I think they are wrong and missed the point of the presentation.
Mick Jackson and the writers didn't feel the need to get overly graphic when showing elements of the meat packing industry, but they did make their point by showing that Temple made some significant and humane changes to the industry.BRAVO HBO for backing yet another excellent movie that tells the story of a woman who in spite of fear, handicap, and social stereotyping opened doors to new opportunities for herself and for many others around her..
The first thing that must be said in commenting on this movie is that Claire Danes is absolutely superb as Temple Grandin - this is truly one of the best performances I've seen in any production in years.
I've known people with autism/asperger's, and she captured the condition perfectly - from her fear of human contact, to her inability to interact "normally" (whatever that is) in social situations, to her brilliance - because many with this condition truly are brilliant people who (as the movie points out) just happen to perceive the world and think about the world in different ways than most of us.
Few stories have been better suited to the film format that the life of autistic scientist Temple Grandin.
The HBO original film "Temple Grandin," directed by Mick Jackson and starring Claire Danes in the title role, does a brilliant and beautiful job of illustrating how her unique brain thinks in pictures.
Instant recall of every image you've ever seen is both a blessing and a curse and the movie shows how she learns, with the help of her mother, aunt and teachers, to use her assets, even as she struggles with the limitations that autism imposes on her.Diagnosed as autistic at the age of four, Temple Grandin was encouraged and sometimes pushed by her devoted mother, depicted here by Julia Ormond, to engage with the world, take a look at it from her distinct point of view and make it a better place.
(I'm not really giving away the plot by telling you this, because the film is not about what she does, so much as the way she does it.) As I watched this movie, I wondered, "Why couldn't this film have come out before 'Rainman?'" Then, at least, parents of autistic children -- and the world at large -- would have more than one popular image of what autism can be.Claire Danes is amazing; she just disappears into the role of Grandin.
David Strathairn, one of my favorite actors, portrays her immensely supportive science teacher, Dr. Carlock, with quiet genius.The real star of the film, though, is the director, who took what some might have turned into a mundane Lifetime movie-of-the-week and drew a startling and unforgettable portrait of a beautiful mind.As the parent of an autistic child, I was mildly disappointed to find a couple of things missing in the film.
This is missing from the film, which focuses on her more creative and natural means of calming herself in the face of stress.The description of Temple that her mother instilled in her, that would later become her motto for autistic people everywhere -- "different, but not less" -- is a moving and simple message that I sincerely hope the world adopts as its view of autism.
We may not always understand these special people, but as "Temple Grandin" so brilliantly illustrates, they have so much to offer the world and a unique way of looking at it.(For a glimpse at our experience parenting an autistic child, check out the "Spinning Plates" blog at www.AmandaBroadfoot.com.).
If you are like us, you will come away from this movie thinking about people, about animals, how we interact with animals and people; and, how we can all make improvements in our lives.The person portrayed by Clare Danes has much to show us about how we cope with life around us.
She worked out what confused and frustrated her about the people in her life and became much better equipped to live within the world then many of us ever do.This movie is funny, heartwarming, educational, enlightening, entertaining and definitely should be on everyone's must see list.A winner for best picture of 2010..
Knowing that an Autistic person isn't so much staring in space, but seeing things in such a way it can be overwhelming makes one appreciate what they and their families contend with.I read an article where someone asked Grandin if she could be "cured" of Autism, would she do it and her response was a resounding "no"-to her, Autism is as much a part of her as the mind it affects and she is who she is because of it.
The person who gives what I think is one of the best Actress performances I have ever seen is Claire Danes as Temple Grandin.
This kind of cinematic and emotionally-satisfying fare pleased the general public and filled the coffers of the movie studios that now reject practically every intelligent project that comes their way, and actresses like Claire Danes and so many others have to wait years before being offered something that truly suits their talent, and then it is often for the "small" screen.
Temple Grandin (Claire Danes) is an autistic woman staying at her aunt Ann (Catherine O'Hara)'s ranch getting ready to go to college.
With the help of her loving but overwhelmed mother (Julia Ormond), mentor Dr. Carlock (David Strathairn), and others, she is able to study, publish, and work on animal handling despite facing a disbelieving and alien world.This is a surprisingly powerful movie.
I really enjoyed it.I liked how they showed the way things happened in Temple's head, it was really cool, because in that way we get to understand her better and relate to her.There is so much trash on TV and movies these days, it was refreshing to see something interesting and inspiring.
You see,having family afflicted with autism,and with my mother particularly involved in various causes and functions in the cause over thirty years,Someone like Temple Grandin has been a familiar name for quite some time now.
Just take a look at a photo of both women!),much credit goes to director Mick Jackson and the editing,which is able to give about as good a sampling of what Professor Grandin's thought processes are as can be done in a "one-shot" movie can give.Not a real populous cast(i.e. much of the people involved are mostly "non-entities": people who have contact with Temple but have either negative or no direct impact on her life),but the support is largely patient and fit in well--David Straithairn as a kindly science teacher who sort of sets Miss Grandin on her way as a youth;Catherine O'Hara as the aunt living in Arizona who goes out of her way to accommodate the title character and Julia Ormond as Temple's strong-willed(if perhaps sometimes hard-headed),educated mother--and aid the movie along its stated path.Perfect for HBO(I frankly have no real idea how this movie could EVER be sold as a large screen offering,and that's NOT a knock on this film at all!),it's running time moves like a breeze and,if you are in any way engaged by what you see in it,will want to see it more times and maybe even do some real digging about the main subject(who is currently in her mid-sixties,still a tenured professor at Colorado State University),either or both by internet research and her numerous writings.
As you can understand Temple Grandin is a really important to the society and that's something that is obvious nowadays.I liked very much this movie because it's based on a true story and it shows us from a different way how is to be an autistic person.
We get an antiseptic look at what goes on there, but enough of the ugliness is conveyed so we don't miss the importance of Grandin's contribution.The film is about a woman with autism, who, with the help of understanding family, friends and inner drive, can make a significant contribution to the world ..
The special effects work, as they help us understand the way the Temple sees her world.No film can totally capture issues, but Temple Grandin does a good job of setting up the character so we can understand her, and it has an inventive, fresh and interesting way of telling her story..
But when I turned my TV on today "Temple Grandin" was on (the scene when her mother is talking to a doctor about 4 year old Temple) and I got hooked before I could turn to something else.The real Temple Grandin is an autistic woman who struggles but overcomes her limitations and has become a world authority on animal husbandry and autism.
Claire Danes is wonderful in this and all the awards for this movie are well deserved.I will definitely be researching Temple Grandin more for my project she seems like an inspiring woman.I highly recommend this movie, 2 hours fly by when you are watching it and your eyes won't be dry by the end!.
This accuracy was possible due to a director with true passion for his subject - who read Grandin's books carefully, researched the places and people of her life, consulted closely with the animal scientist herself, and--most of all--chose the brilliant Claire Danes to represent her.
Temple Grandin (Claire Danes) isn't diagnosed as Austic until much later in life, but she is lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family with a loving mother who never gave up on her child's challenges.
Claire Danes gives a magnificent portrayal of this woman and her life, while at the same time educating the viewer on how an Autistic person sees and deals with the world.
Temple Grandin is a wonderful movie about the true story of an autistic women going through early parts of her life.
The film Temple Grandin is the real-life story of Temple Grandin, who was portrayed by Claire Danes.
After graduating from college, Temple went on to get her Masters of Science degree and became an advocate for treating animals in humane ways.Temple Grandin is an uplifting story of a person overcoming disadvantages and making a life for herself when others did not want to give her a chance.
If you take this film at face value, it leaves you thinking that the world needs altruistic people like Temple Grandin to serve as the Mother Teresas for life on Earth.
Claire Danes took on the life of Temple Grandin, and made it her own.It is a unique perspective, into the life of Autism.
Also the musical score provides a great backdrop that links with the visuals in the movie to give you a wondrous effect of how "Different, but not less" her mind views the world.This story would not have turned out to be the inspiration that it is had Temple's mother, Eustacia followed the advice of the day.
It is a joy to watch.Temple Grandin, born with autistic behavior, has difficulty in learning academically and socially except for her mother and a few teachers that recognized how different her world is.
This movie captured what it was like to be diagnosed with Autism, and it also showed how much pain the mother had to go through in order to help Temple function in the world and not be locked in an institution.
This film was truly a masterpiece of television and was brought together by the performance of Claire Danes, whom many will know from Homeland, who plays the titular character and plays her so convincingly that you would think she was Temple Grandin.