The Great Danes: Her perfect portrayal of Temple Grandin

This year's crop of HBO movies far, far surpasses the lame and dispiriting efforts of 2009. "Temple Grandin" may be the best of the bunch - in any case, I found it totally enthralling for its nearly two hours, interesting both because of Grandin and who she is and how effectively this tightly directed film captures the way she thinks, the struggle she had to find a place in the world, her fine accomplishments, the complexities of her condition (autism), and the difficulties she faced growing up in the 50s and 60s that are somewhat alleviated today, thanks in part to her. The film is not in the least mawkish, it's sometimes funny, often sad, has moments of triumph without being overly sentimental, and doesn't overstate the claims for Grandin. She's not superhuman. She's real, with strengths and flaws like all of us. We see how autism is something of a spectrum diagnosis, and she's pretty far out on the edge of the spectrum, but because of her mother's determination and refusal to accept the limited medical advice of the era, she made the most of her life. The scenes of her trying to socialize and to "fit in" at school are vivid and painful. Can't say enough about Clare Danes's portrayal, funny and vivid and completely believable, through a whole range of emotions - all while not being able to protray emotions through traditional means of social interaction. The only weakness of the film is the totally opaque Julia Ormond, who once again show that a pretty face is not enough if you can't show anything beneath the surface. Another film that could never have been made for commercial release but finds a great venue through HBO.