Hello, my name is Temple Grandin.

Temple Grandin
the movie
HBO

Rarely am I surprised by movies. Usually I like something within a few degrees of my expectation. Trailers have facilitated this for most of us, I suspect.

But this movie exceeded my expectations. Not only was the story of Temple Grandin captivating as a stand-alone story, but the film was surprisingly well done. The filmmakers did an amazing job of visually mapping Temple's brain, since her brain, as Temple proclaims in the movie, "doesn't work like most people's." Also, Clare Danes did a truly impressive job as the titular character. I've always liked her as an actress, ever since My So-Called Life, but her performance in this movie is one of her best.

There's one scene where she isn't allowed into the slaughterhouse where she needs to be to study animal husbandry, her chosen major and career, because she's a girl. So she watches and observes how the men, the cowboys, really, dress, drive, behave and carry themselves. One of the things her autism gifts her with is superior pattern recognition. She uses this to dress in cowboy drag, including a beat-up pickup truck, overalls, and rolling in the mud, as a rough and tumble cowboy. It works. She gets in.

What else?

I don't know statistically how common it is for an autistic to have the intelligence and ability of Temple Grandin. I know her mother and aunt had a tremendous influence on her education and active participation in society.

One of the most horrifying scenes and revelations in the movie is that the doctor who assessed Temple as a small girl encouraged her mother to institutionalized Temple. Her mother, thankfully, refused. She was too determined to help and encourage Temple. Early in the movie (as the movie plays out in a non-linear fashion), I was annoyed with her mother, who all but forced her daughter to attend college and live among peers she neither understood nor could socially relate to. But it turned out that her mother's determination to have Temple participate in society stirred an interest in education, cattle, self-comfort, making friends, and making the world a better place for cows.

One of my favorite lines from Temple was, "If it weren't for people eating cows, a cow would just be a funny looking animal. But if we're gonna eat them...well, they deserve some respect." Something like that.

I was delighted, horrified, and tear-stained during this movie. Any movie that makes me laugh, cry and gasp in horror is impressive to say the least. HBO originally aired Temple Grandin in February 2010, but I've heard it has re-aired several times. The DVD will be available in August and you can pre-order through Amazon or get through netflix.

Please see this movie. You won't regret it. Comment here and let me know what you think.

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