Temple Grandin (2010)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Robert C

  
  I have always been sort of indifferent about Claire Danes, but I believe that with this film she has really proved herself to be quite an actress. It's a performance that if done poorly could have come across as over the top are cartoonish, but Danes nuanced performance… More
  I have always been sort of indifferent about Claire Danes, but I believe that with this film she has really proved herself to be quite an actress. It's a performance that if done poorly could have come across as over the top are cartoonish, but Danes nuanced performance brings the quirky Grandin to life in a very believable, moving yet empowering way. The supporting cast (particularly Ormond & O'Hara) are also superb. In addition to the great acting, the film was edited and enhanced in a delightful way, that really helps the view have a better understanding of the complex way that Grandin's (brilliant) mind works. An exceptionally good film about an exceptionally brilliant woman.

• paul o

  
  The film takes a completely new approach to autism. The editing for one thing grabs your mind and expands it for people unfamiliar with the disorder. Claire Danes is fantastic and brings strong emotions when displaying the biographical character. A fun watch for those who have the… More
  The film takes a completely new approach to autism. The editing for one thing grabs your mind and expands it for people unfamiliar with the disorder. Claire Danes is fantastic and brings strong emotions when displaying the biographical character. A fun watch for those who have the opportunity to watch it.

• Reid V

  
  For someone who knew nothing about Temple Grandin prior to this film, I really had no idea what I was in for. In fact, I was not very excited due to the presence of Claire Danes. I know she has talent, but I have not really seen a film of hers that has really impressed me. Enter… More
  For someone who knew nothing about Temple Grandin prior to this film, I really had no idea what I was in for. In fact, I was not very excited due to the presence of Claire Danes. I know she has talent, but I have not really seen a film of hers that has really impressed me. Enter Temple Grandin. A role that can be seen as merely Oscar bait, but is deftly handled by Danes. Never once did I feel as though she was an actress playing a woman with autism. Hell, had Danes never been in a film before, I would just have assumed that they cast an actual person inflicted with the disorder. While this seems like acting 101, it amazes me just how many actors chew the scene in such a way that draws way too much attention to themselves. As for the film itself, it is well done. The sound design is masterful and the images fly at you in such a way that help get the viewer immersed into such a complex mind. However, it does in the end feel like a tv movie. Things are too often overstated and the music swells in a way that frequently drew my attention to the artifice and prevented me from truly immersing in the film. Also, there were a few scenes that looked like they were pulled from a Hallmark special of the week. In the end, it is a fascinating and well told story. Yet, it is mainly a vehicle for Danes and she does not disappoint.

• Jim H

  
  Temple Grandin, the author of <i>Animals in Translation</i> and <i>Thinking in Pictures</I> succeeds in getting her education, designing revolutionary livestock handling methods, and adjusting to a world that doesn't understand her, nor vice versa. In most… More
  Temple Grandin, the author of <i>Animals in Translation</i> and <i>Thinking in Pictures</I> succeeds in getting her education, designing revolutionary livestock handling methods, and adjusting to a world that doesn't understand her, nor vice versa. In most cinematic presentations of autism, the characters are either uncommunicative (<i>Silent Fall</i>) or superheroes (<i>Rain Man</i> and his Blackjack brilliance), but what sets <i>Temple Grandin</i> apart is the film's ability to present what is special about Temple at the same time that her autism causes her to behave in cringe-worthy manners. And the film's quick cutting and graphics allow us to understand how Grandin thinks, and I like how the story is often told intertwined with visual special effects; it's almost as though how Grandin sees the world and how we see the film are dramatically enmeshed. Claire Danes won a richly deserved Golden Globe for this performance. She doesn't descend in caricature, and there wasn't a moment I didn't believe that I was watching a real person. Likewise, Julia Ormond has a thankless role as Temple's mother; this character doesn't have any scene-stealing moments, but Ormond makes the most of her screen time, and the last moment, though tipping the scales toward a Lifetime movie, is a tear-jerker only because of Ormond's performance. Essentially, the film is saying what a former teacher has been writing for years: autism is a rhetoric, a way of being in the world, a paradigm, a different way of perceiving, processing, and responding to stimuli. It is not a superpower that will make you a billion dollars in Vegas because autism and savantism are two different things; it is not a disability or a form of retardation. Now, this is the opinion coming out of autistic communities, of which Grandin is a part, and there are counter-arguments, but this film and Temple Grandin's life and work serve as convincing evidence in my view that autism is closer to a diversity issue than a medical issue. Overall, <i>Temple Grandin</i> is a stirring portrait of a very strong person's mind with a tour de force performance by Claire Danes and fine direction by Mick Jackson.

• Mike S

  
  Wonderful in every way! I can't say that Claire Danes is a name that falls often on my lips, but after seeing this extraordinary performance by her - not to say pitch perfect and deeply touching - I'm now instantly ranking her among Hollywood's most prominent talents.… More
  Wonderful in every way! I can't say that Claire Danes is a name that falls often on my lips, but after seeing this extraordinary performance by her - not to say pitch perfect and deeply touching - I'm now instantly ranking her among Hollywood's most prominent talents. An amazing, compelling and visually delightful story, that deserves to be seen by a larger audience. For this is what great acting is all about and the very reason why I love movies.

• Cynthia S

  
  Fantastic movie. I have to admit, the first 10 min or so I was not sure whether this was a movie for me..it seemed a little strange. BUT, it quickly became clear that this was a special movie about a very special person. Very well done, inspiring, and heartfelt film.

• Eliza N

  
  It's an unforgettable true story! At first it'll be weird if you had never had an experience with an autistic person (and believe me i had never had ) but after watching a lot of her life , you 'll put yourself into her place ,for a while, and feel how she feels .Claire… More
  It's an unforgettable true story! At first it'll be weird if you had never had an experience with an autistic person (and believe me i had never had ) but after watching a lot of her life , you 'll put yourself into her place ,for a while, and feel how she feels .Claire Daines' acting couldn't be better!

• Megan S

  
  Amazing...if ever there was a story of overcoming the odds, this is it.

• Stella D

  
  outstanding bio of an unusual woman: temple grandin is america's most famous autistic person. the fact that she wasn't institutionalized growing up in the 50's is a testament to her mother and a series of teachers who struggled to penetrate temple's thought… More
  outstanding bio of an unusual woman: temple grandin is america's most famous autistic person. the fact that she wasn't institutionalized growing up in the 50's is a testament to her mother and a series of teachers who struggled to penetrate temple's thought process. the film is the most realistic depiction i have yet seen of the world of an autistic person. temple went on to become a doctor of animal science who revolutionized the cattle industry and a leading spokesman for autistic people everywhere, showing great courage in the face of others' rejection and scorn along the way. claire danes is an actress of whom i never thought much but she is remarkable here. and the director of the bodyguard? seriously? i laughed, i cried, i learned stuff...

• Pedro H

  
  <i> What made her different made her exceptional. </i> <b> positive, encouraging, heartening, pleasing, cheery, gratifying, uplifting, touching. </b> A biopic of an Autistic young women who is super-smart and discovers way to contribute to society and… More
  <i> What made her different made her exceptional. </i> <b> positive, encouraging, heartening, pleasing, cheery, gratifying, uplifting, touching. </b> A biopic of an Autistic young women who is super-smart and discovers way to contribute to society and animals. the movie follows her path through the stages in her life which make her one of the most famous scientists in human society. The acting of the movie is marvelous, this is the first movie i have seen with Claire Davis and she surprised me, she has an immense talent, a beautiful way to connect us the audience to the character she built. Temple is so sympathizing you feel that throughout the movie you have actually had a chance to meet her. Besides her we have <b> prodigious actors </b> like O'Hara and Strathaim. The movie in general is so <b>astonishing</b>, it will grab everyone by the heart, it has a massage to everyone out there, it tells the story of a very important women in our society, is shows each and everyone of us aspects of autism we have never scene before. This is one of televisions best, this year, and i honestly think it deserves to go out for the movies, because i wont be surprised if this years oscars go to "Temple Grandin". <u>Temple Grandin</u>: <i>They will be very calm. Nature is cruel but we don't have to be. We owe them some respect. I touched the first cow that was being stunned. In a few seconds it was going to be just another piece of beef, but in that moment it was still an individual. It was calm and then it was gone. I became aware of how precious life was </i>

• Jake .

  
  Honestly, this has to be one of the most overlooked and underrated films I have come across in a very long time, possibly even ever. There are three things in particular that really stood out. The most important, and probably most obvious, would be Claire Dane's portrayal of… More
  Honestly, this has to be one of the most overlooked and underrated films I have come across in a very long time, possibly even ever. There are three things in particular that really stood out. The most important, and probably most obvious, would be Claire Dane's portrayal of Temple. Not only is she incredible, but she also does an amazing portrayal of autism. There is not anything 'wrong' with Autistic people, nor are they sick in the sense that they needed to be pitied or isolated. The film reduces the whole 'disorder' end of Autism and presents it instead as simply a different way of viewing the world and even as a gift. The second thing would be the only screen visuals in the film. I'm not sure what the proper terminology would be, but I liked it. The final thing would simple be that the film is affectionate and sentimental, yes; but it is never sappy. There is a difference. I like where and when the film ended. Anything also would have deteriorated the effect of the whole. It oftentimes has the potential to be depressing, but is always vivacious. Like Temple says "nature is cruel, but we don't have to be."

• Corey W

  
  Claire Danes is Oscar-worthy in her performence as Temple Grandin. I wish this went to theatres and not just as an HBO film.

• Randy T

  
  What a fantastic celebration of one woman's life! As a parent of an autistic child, I was floored by Claire Danes' authenticity and respect. She's not just an actress pretending to be a person with challenges. Danes gets it right. 5 stars.

• Michael G

  
  I never make it a point to see any made for cable movies, but Temple Grandin is an amazing, amazing movie by any cinematic standard. Nothing about the cast (Claire Danes usually sends me into dry heaves) or the director I knew nothing about pulled me to the story of Temple Grandin,… More
  I never make it a point to see any made for cable movies, but Temple Grandin is an amazing, amazing movie by any cinematic standard. Nothing about the cast (Claire Danes usually sends me into dry heaves) or the director I knew nothing about pulled me to the story of Temple Grandin, perhaps the world's most famous autistic who's not only an advocate for the disorder but an innovator in the slaughterhouse industry. Director Mick Jackson's direction and ability to illustrate Grandin's thought process (or at least what I knew of it before seeing this movie from interviews) on screen was brilliant as was his telling of Grandin's story. And Danes' portrayal of Grandin and her portrayal of autism blew me away. It blew me the fuck away. If you even know someone with autism this movie is incredibly insightful and at risk of nauseating myself, inspiring.

• Walter M

  
  This is a highly engaging biopic that succeeds in showing the world through the subject's eyes and why it is so important to see the world through other people's eyes, aided by a keen visual sense. See, Temple Grandin(Claire Danes) was diagnosed at the age of four with… More
  This is a highly engaging biopic that succeeds in showing the world through the subject's eyes and why it is so important to see the world through other people's eyes, aided by a keen visual sense. See, Temple Grandin(Claire Danes) was diagnosed at the age of four with autism. It was suggested that she be institutionalized but her mother(Julia Ormond) would have none of that with her first step being to teach her daughter how to speak.(Since this was 1951, it would have been especially bad if she had given up on her daughter, considering the state of psychiatric care at the time and it is implied that many autistic children did suffer such a cruel fate. All of which demonstrates how well the movie handles period details without overdoing it.) Actually, the film is a series of adjustments for Temple, like any young person, first boarding school, then going to live with her Aunt Ann(Catherine O'Hara) and Uncle Mike(Michael Crabtree) in Arizona where she shares her doubts about going to college. All of which is complicated by Temple's unique thought process which is in pictures, not words, as she also gets inspiration from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."(What would Illya Kuryakin do?) And a lot of the movie's humor comes from her miscomprehending initally what is said to her. So, it is no surprise that her greatest challenge turns out to be not only putting her ideas down on paper in words but also communicating them to her fellow human beings. In contrast, Temple has no trouble with cows and horses, deciding to study animal husbandry. As she says in the movie, having bred cows for food, they deserve our respect.

• Panta O

  
  I had no idea what to expect from this movie... the lame poster was not attracting me at all, and I wasn't familiar with the story of Temple Grandin... I thought to watch it just to see how Claire Danes could pull this one up! And she and the director Mick Jackson did it the… More
  I had no idea what to expect from this movie... the lame poster was not attracting me at all, and I wasn't familiar with the story of Temple Grandin... I thought to watch it just to see how Claire Danes could pull this one up! And she and the director Mick Jackson did it the big way! Wasn't easy to portray a life of such an amazing person like Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who revolutionized practices for the humane handling of livestock on cattle ranches and slaughterhouses... but helped understanding autism as well - publishing her own books explaining the complex world of the people with autism (if you're interested in her work, her web page is http://www.templegrandin.com/ ). The idea of this biographical movie originated with its executive producer Emily Gerson Saines, a successful talent agent and a co-founder of the non-profit Autism Coalition for Research and Education (now part of Autism Speaks). In the mid-1990s, Gerson Saines was a vice-president at the William Morris Agency when her 2-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. She learned about Grandin soon afterward, when her mother told her about seeing Grandin's book Thinking in Pictures in a bookstore... When Mick Jackson was chosen as a director by HBO he knew early on that Danes was his first choice to portray Grandin, believing that Danes' seriousness and dedication would help her to capture Grandin's mercurial mental and emotional shifts without veering the film into just ordinary melodrama. Although Claire Danes was only vaguely aware of Grandin at the time, she started researching, including watching documentaries about Grandin and studying Grandin's books and recordings. "It was really daunting, because she's alive and has a great eye for detail," Danes said. The two women spent about six hours together in Danes' apartment, ending with a hug from Grandin ("For her, that's not easy," Danes observed), which Danes was glad to take as validation that Grandin approved of her for the role... and that was a role to be remembered! The beauty of this wonderful movie is that makes Temple Grandin's autism - and the unique insight it gave her into livestock psychology - relatable to anyone with a heart, and fascinating to anyone with intelligence - in one story!

• Theta S

  
  Set predominantly in the 1960's and 1970's, Temple Grandin is the true story of a young autistic woman (Claire Danes) who, with the support her family, an inspirational teacher and her own strength of character, goes from boarding school to college and become a foremost… More
  Set predominantly in the 1960's and 1970's, Temple Grandin is the true story of a young autistic woman (Claire Danes) who, with the support her family, an inspirational teacher and her own strength of character, goes from boarding school to college and become a foremost authority in psychology, through the use of self-medicating the panic attacks associated with her condition, and animal husbandry, through her study of ensuring that cattle are treated humanely in situations where they are normally stressed. SPOILERS AHEAD ============================================================= Autism and animal husbandry. Not exactly subjects that appear to go together in a film, but bear with me because this is a worthwhile TV movie. Right from the introduction by Danes, the viewer is ushered into a film with a unique view of the world which is refreshing to see. Claire Danes is fantastic as Temple. She removes the usual "movie of the week" cliche and gives a well rounded performance which requires her to play different emotional styles - from happiness and humour to frustration, anger and pain. Along with the emotional aspects of her performance, Danes gives a convincing representation of Temple's keen intellect and her desire to excel in her chosen educational and career fields. The supporting cast is of an equally high calibre with Julia Ormond and Catherine O'Hara as Temple's mother and aunt respectively who have to portray not only the need to protect Temple from the outside world but also the need to integrate her into it. But the key member of the supporting cast, is David Strathairn who has limited screen time in the role of Doctor Carlock, who is Temple's only ally in the teaching staff at boarding school, provides the focus for her unique talents in mathematics and science, the inspiration for her to go into the fields of psychology and animal husbandry and teach her some important life lessons. I have seen some criticism that the film uses visual tricks as in "A Beautiful Mind" to represent the world as Temple sees it. Yes, the film does use visual effects (such as showing the way that cattle move, how horses see and visual representations of conversations), but without this you don't get a sense of her perspective which is the driving force of the film. Temple Grandin is a film with smarts which is also life affirming and inspirational. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth a punt if the opportunity arises to watch it.

• Chihoe H

  
  If not for it being a made-for-tv movie, this HBO film would have been a top contender come Oscar night. Temple Grandin is such a prominent advocate for autism, being autistic herself and inventing the hug machine, and also as the person who revolutionized the cattle industry. This… More
  If not for it being a made-for-tv movie, this HBO film would have been a top contender come Oscar night. Temple Grandin is such a prominent advocate for autism, being autistic herself and inventing the hug machine, and also as the person who revolutionized the cattle industry. This film does her passion for autism, and animal welfare and behaviour, justice. Claire Danes does not simply mimic the real Temple Grandin but adds her own interpretive dimension to every nuance expression and movement she does. I am a huge fan of Claire and this is by far her best performance. Director Mick Jackson's vision takes us beyond by adding apt illustrations to show how Temple visualizes her surroundings. A must-see for fans of the woman or the actress, or for an insight into the relevant topics. This movie will move you, anger you, inspire you, illicit some kind of response from you, but it will never disappoint you.

• Lesley N

  
  Very absorbing and watchable HBO biopic about a fascinating subject, Claire Danes nails it as the autistic, observant, intelligent Temple Grandin overcoming the odds to succeed in the male-dominated livestock industry, Some of the action seemed a little choppy, one success (or… More
  Very absorbing and watchable HBO biopic about a fascinating subject, Claire Danes nails it as the autistic, observant, intelligent Temple Grandin overcoming the odds to succeed in the male-dominated livestock industry, Some of the action seemed a little choppy, one success (or failure) jumping to the next, with no fill-in between the events, but this is nitpicking; I loved every minute of it. P.S The BBC Horizon documentary "The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow" is also well worth a watch.

• Jason S

  
  Brilliant! Absolutely loved this movie in every way. Moving story and really interesting topic with a fantastic performance by Claire Daines in this made for TV movie (HBO). It's pitty it didnt get a cinematic release because I think it's as good as any I have seen in… More
  Brilliant! Absolutely loved this movie in every way. Moving story and really interesting topic with a fantastic performance by Claire Daines in this made for TV movie (HBO). It's pitty it didnt get a cinematic release because I think it's as good as any I have seen in 2010. I thought Julia Ormond was superb in this film also. Big surprise. Great!

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