Mozart and the Whale

Well, I just finished watching Mozart and the Whale (2005), a film starring Josh Hartnett and Rhada Mitchell as a couple with Asperger's syndrome struggling to overcome the difficulties that come with just being a couple and a couple with Asperger's syndrome. The two meet at a support group Hartnett's character, Donald Morton, runs and soon fall in love. Mitchell's character, Isabelle Sorenson, while autistic, does not seem to be as impaired emotionally or economically because of her condition as Donald is. However, Isabelle does suffer from emotional disturbances that culminate in her suicide attempt when she and Donald break up. The two eventually decide to take things slow and eventually marry by the end of the film.

And, the film is actually not that bad. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Namely, because the film doesn't fall into the stereotypical autism-movie cliches that Anthony Baker identifies in his article, "Recognizing Jake: Contending with Specularized Representations of Autism." In Mozart and the Whale, the autistic character is overly cute and endearing, while being placed in mortal danger, and being threatened to be taken away from their caregivers. In fact, Isabelle and Donald both do not have any family aside from their friends at the support group. The movie is about adults on the spectrum trying to negotiate the conflicts that come with any relationship and conflicts that might be more pronounced with two individuals who have difficulty with relationships of all kinds.

Perhaps what was more frustrating for me were the reviewers comments on the movie at IMD, Blockbuster.com, and Rotten Tomatoes. Most notable: the characters were either too "retarded" as at Rotten Tomatoes (autism is not a form of mental retardation, fyi) or they weren't "autistic" enough, as at Blockbuster.com. Specifically, "Stephanie O." recommends Rainman for a more accurate and compelling representation of autism. She also recommends a website on Temple Grandin, to learn more about autism.

As I'm reading these reviews, I'm reminded of conversations on autism, particularly the challenges some individuals considered "high-functioning" and Asperger's face. Namely, that they are not autistic enough for services, patience, and compassion, but aren't "normal" enough to keep from standing out and from being ostracized in society. While the film does an excellent job showing the different manifestations of Asperger's syndrome and the different ways in which Asperger's manifests itself in the individual, it seems that, in this instance, it's cinematic failures occur because it doesn't comply with the stereotypical, autistic experience. I find it enormously frustrating to hear that Rainman is the more typical autistic experience--especially considering that the man to which the film is based, Kim Peek, isn't autistic and the character is institutionalized.

How many times have I heard, "Autism. Oh, like Rainman?" Well, no autism is nothing like Rainman. In fact, in South Asia, an autistic person is referred to as "Rainman."