Temple Grandin – A Warner Home Video Release

http://www.hbocanada.com/details/?id=50658

DVD Release Date: August 24th, 2010

Canadian Home Video Rating – 14A; TV – PG

Running time: 109 minutes

Mick Jackson (dir.)

Christopher Monger (teleplay)

Merritt Johnson (teleplay) (as William Merritt Johnson)

Temple Grandin (book “Emergence”)

Margaret Scarciano (book “Emergence”)

Temple Grandin (book “Thinking in Pictures”)

Alex Wurman (music)

Claire Danes as Temple Grandin

Catherine O’Hara as Aunt Ann

Julia Ormond as Eustacia

David Strathaim as Professor Carlock

Special Features:

• The Making of Temple Grandin

• Audio commentary with Dr. Temple Grandin, director Mick Jackson, and writer Christopher Monger

Our reviews below:

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Temple Grandin DVD Review By John C.

***1/2 (out of 4)

Temple Grandin is a visionary who not only redesigned the cattle industry, but through this was able to give insight into her own autistic mind, and in turn has helped numerous others living on the spectrum.  This HBO production tells the endlessly inspiring true story.  Sent to boarding school as a teenager, Temple (Claire Danes) was taken under the wing of a kind science teacher (David Straithern), and was later able to graduate college.  Overcoming the boundaries of her own challenges and the sexism plaguing the meat industry, she was later able to improve the industry both in its treatment of animals and economic practicality.

The story is told through the use of a fractured narrative, as well as brief flashes of what is going through Temple’s mind.  All these technique’s work well here, never becoming distracting and always taking us deeper into the story.  The cast is all good, the production is uniformly excellent, and Claire Danes is nothing short  of  brilliant.  She doesn’t look exactly like the real Temple Grandin, but like Frank  Langella as Richard Nixon, she embodies her perfectly through the use of speech patterns and mannerisms.  Temple Grandin is a moving and inspiring film about a remarkable person, that is a must see for both those that do and don’t already know her story.

The DVD includes audio commentary with Temple Grandin and director Mick Jackson, as well as a short featurette assuring us Grandin approved of the project and that no animals were harmed.

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Temple Grandin DVD Review By Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

Temple Grandin tells the true story of a remarkable woman who has autism.  If you haven’t heard of her, or even if you have, I’d recommend watching this film.  The tagline for it is quite brilliant actually, and explains it all: “Autism gave her a vision – she gave it a voice.”

It’s true – when she was diagnosed with autism, it was still considered to be from ‘refrigerator mothers’ and it was recommended she be institutionalized.  Luckily, her mother didn’t listen and helped to shape her into who she is today.  She became one of the first individuals to write about what it is like to live on the autism spectrum (how she thinks ‘in pictures,’ etc.), and also used her gift – her different way of interpreting the world around her – to relate to animals and build better devices for them on ranches.  She is now known worldwide and is on speaker circuits regularly.

All of the acting here is really good, and personally having seen Temple Grandin speak at conferences, I was in particular pleased to see Claire Danes give such an accurate and tasteful performance.  The story of Temple Grandin is incredibly inspiring, and is one to seek out.  I found this to be a very moving and well made film.

Also included on the disc is a commentary by director Mick Jackson, writer Christopher Monger, and Dr. Temple Grandin.  While I haven’t seen the film with it on yet, it will most certainly prove to be very interesting.  There is also a short 5 minute making-of featurette, which is also well done.

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Temple Grandin DVD Review By Nicole

**** (out of 4)

Temple Grandin is one of the most inspiring and influential women in modern times.  She also happens to have autism.  In this HBO biopic, we see Temple (Claire Danes) grow from a teenager, into a young woman who is making a difference in the lives of animals, as well as the autism community.  When Temple was 4, a doctor diagnosed her with autism.  His recommendation was that her mother institutionalize her.  Temple’s mother refused, knowing her daughter had a place in the world.  She disproved the then current myth that autism was caused by negligent mothers by working tirelessly to make sure Temple received the best education she could get.

In high school, Temple developed a love of science, thanks to an innovative science teacher.  But she discovered her real passion for animals while staying at her Aunt Ann’s (Catherine O’Hara) place.  Here she discovered how cattle get overstimulated by a lot of things.  Temple has real empathy for these animals, because as an autist, she too gets overwhelmed easily.  She can hear every sound at once, and gets frightened by things others take for granted, like automatic doors.  But this autistic sensitivity is also a gift.  Temple can visualize everything in her mind, and can imagine designs for new inventions.  This gift came in handy when Temple studied animal husbandry.  She was appalled by the brutal and inhumane ways that  cattle were treated in the meat industry.  Even a simple bath became a drowning hazard when the cattle were being yelled at and poked.  Temple tried to work with the ranchers and abattoirs to make things as humane as possible for these gentle creatures.  At first, no one took her seriously, as she is a woman.  But over time, her cow friendly inventions began to be implemented across North America.

Temple Grandin is an amazing person.  Claire Danes, although not looking much like the real Temple, still captures Temple’s character perfectly.  This film never delves into stereotypes, instead portraying an accurate and positive portrayal of autism.

As an animal lover I found some of the ways animals were treated hard to watch at times.  (A making of feature explains that plush puppets were used in these scenes.)  However, seeing how Temple used her special talents to improve things for the cows was just amazing.  If you care about animals, and autism rights, then Temple Grandin is a must see.

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Temple Grandin DVD Review By Maureen

***1/2 (out of 4)

Temple Grandin is an inspiring and moving biopic about well known autist and animal behaviorist Dr. Temple Grandin.  Having had the privilege of seeing Dr. Grandin speak at autism conferences I was pleased that this film captured her wonderful spirit and mannerisms in a believable and respectful way.  Claire Danes is brilliant as Temple Grandin.  Her sensitive portrayal really gets across the struggles and challenges of autism as well as the immense gifts autism can bring.  As Temple Grandin’s mother said in the film, “Temple is different, not less.”

This biopic mainly covers Temple Grandin’s high school years and her transition to college and then into the male dominated ranching world as a cattle handling designer.  Her story is an amazing one and with the superb acting from all involved, Julie Ormand as Temple’s mother, Catherine O’Hara as her Aunt, David Stratherin as her favourite science teacher and especially Claire Danes as Temple herself, this film is a must-see.

Anyone who has an interest in Autism or loves an inspiring story will want to check this one out.  HBO’s Temple Grandin really is a wonderful film.  (Sensitive viewers may find the ranching segments hard to watch at times.)

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Temple Grandin DVD Review By Tony

**** (out of 4)

Temple Grandin is an HBO biopic about the remarkable woman born in 1947 who has brilliantly overcome the challenges and used the gifts of her autism.  Still nonverbal at four years of age, she would have been institutionalized for life without her mother’s advocacy and hard work to ensure her academic success.  After a miserable time bullied in elementary schools, her mother enrolled her in a boarding school with other exceptional kids where her ability to solve problems by “thinking in pictures” was recognized and encouraged by her science teacher.  Careful observation of the cattle at her aunt’s ranch gave her special insight into their behaviour as prey animals that would eventually be used in the design of humane feedlots and abattoirs that minimize stress leading to slaughter and actually save money in the long run.  Finding human contact, crowds and noisy environments stressful, she designed a ”squeeze machine” adapted from a similar device used for cattle, in which she could experience the calming effect that neurotypicals (non-autistic people) get from a hug. Despite compelling arguments to support her ideas that earned her a PhD, she was not taken seriously at first, due as much to inertia in a traditionally male industry as to her eccentricities.  The film ends at a 1981 autism conference where she spoke up as a successful role model leading to the next phase of her academic career as a leading authority on autism.

I have seen Temple Grandin speak on several occasions.  Now in her 60s, she is known for her embroidered western shirts and a distinctive no-nonsense way of speaking that reminds me of Marjorie Main. Claire Danes has perfectly captured Temple Grandin’s mannerisms and voice. The story is well told, using brief flashes of mental images to show her thought processes.  The rest of the cast is strong, including Julia Ormond as her mother, Catherine O’Hara as her aunt, and David Strathairn as her science teacher. The story is appropriately accompanied by a largely minimalist score.

The DVD includes commentary by the director Mick Jackson and Temple Grandin, and a brief featurette where we see Temple Grandin as a close advisor delighted with the results.

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Consensus: HBO’s Temple Grandin is well and tastefully made.  Claire Danes rises to the challenge of portraying this remarkable woman extremely well.  For those without HBO, seek this one out now on DVD – it’s worth it. ***3/4 (Out of 4)