Extremely Loud and Autism
No one seems really able of going near Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Now that the nominations have come out, and it got a surprise Best Picture nomination, it’s worth taking a closer look at the movie.
My best friend’s son (basically, my nephew) has autism. Thanks to a very cool device he’s able to communicate very well now. He’s the coolest kid ever and whip smart. But yeah, he has autism. I watch my friend with him in public and I watch how other people react to him and I know that we have a long way to go before the general public really gets what autism is about. But it’s interesting, perhaps intentionally, perhaps unintentionally but the Stephen Daldry film has struck a chord with the autism community. As my friend recounted a story to me yesterday about another kid they know, a teen, who saw the movie and within the film’s first ten minutes he said to his mom, “that kid has autism.” And all the way through the movie he exchanged looks with his mom about it. They knew what most people who write about movies are probably incapable of knowing, that the shades of autism are evident throughout. Kids with autism will definitely understand it, I think, on a level “typical” kids can’t.
Beth Arky at Childmind.com took the critics to task for totally missing it (I cut them a break because, though I’m not an expert, I’ve watched my nephew grow up and I didn’t see the kid in the film reflecting the autism I knew but I was willing to keep an open mind about it:
The critics came down so hard on Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, the film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a boy’s struggle to make sense of his father’s death on 9/11, that when the Oscar nominations were announced, the Huffington Post heralded it as the “Worst Reviewed Movie of the Past 10 Years” to receive a Best Picture nod. Much of the vitriol was aimed at director Stephen Daldry—Rotten Tomatoes said that while Loudis a story worth telling, “it deserves better than the treacly and pretentious treatment…Daldry gives it.” But some of the harshest, not to mention most surprising, salvos were fired at the character of Oskar, the 9-year-old at the center of the story.
Oskar’s constant commentary, social difficulties, severe anxiety and overwhelming sensory issues all point toward an autism spectrum disorder, although he reports at one point that he was screened for Asperger’s, but the result was “inconclusive.” So autism advocates were quick to find offense when reviewers like The New York Times‘ Manohla Dargis proclaimed that in real life Oskar “would be one of those children who inspire some adults to coo and cluck while reminding others of how grateful they are to be child-free.” Worse, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called him “creepy,” “weird,” “snappish” and “superior.” Autism Key‘s Michelle Gonzalez found the trend disturbing. “It appears that many moviegoers and critics take issue with the way children with autism behave and speak,” she wrote.
It wasn’t just critics who took potshots at Oskar. In an IMDB review of the film starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, one user in New Zealand posted, “Top notch talents put themselves at the service of this jarring tale led by Thomas Horn a young actor, talented I’m sure, but here, he is utterly unpleasant. A precious child with a jarring voice that should be stopped, now!”
But Gonzalez saved her toughest condemnation for AP movie writer David Germain, who called Oskar “shrill.” “You make allowances in life for people you encounter with autism,” Germain wrote, “but spending two hours with a fictional character possessing autistic qualities can be grating.” The furious Gonzalez retorted, “Mr. Germain and others have exposed what we as parents contend with on a regular basis, which is the overt discrimination and contempt towards our children by the general public at large.
“Had Germain made such statements about a movie character’s race or sexual orientation,” the blogger continued, “I’m sure we’d be hearing a lot more outcry. But unfortunately, other than a few Web sites and autism message boards, there has been little fanfare made about the AP writer’s sentiments.”
One mom commenting on Gonzalez’s post wrote, “It’s really interesting (but not surprising) to hear of people’s contempt for the mannerisms of this character portrayal. There really is a low threshold for tolerance for people with this disability. I have experienced the disdain of strangers firsthand, while trying to maneuver through everyday life with my Autistic daughter.”
Over at the Times, Dargis’ review emboldened at least one filmgoer to write, “‘The Brat’ would be a better title for this stupid and silly adventure.” But there was also this insightful comment regarding Oskar’s character: “The lack of social grace appears to be a choice, or worse a judgment as lazy, too rude or arrogant to relate to the world. This is simply not the case. Enter the cold-calculating Ms. Dargis and her review in the venerable newspaper of record. SHOCKING. This reviewer so missed the significance of Asperger’s in this film, she should spend some significant time educating herself.”
But the filmmakers really didn’t intend the film to be “about Asperger’s” the way A Beautiful Mind was about schizophrenia. Still, looking at how it all turned out, that’s really the best they got. In their editing of Eric Roth’s script, I’m afraid they removed almost everything else that was important about 9/11, probably to make it less offensive for people who weren’t ready to deal with 9/11 in a movie like that. All I know is that the script was a complete work. I felt the movie was almost there. In the script, the Oskar character couldn’t really express his emotions so well. He had to use words for them, like “heavy boots” for feeling sad. His internal world was exploding but outwardly, there was nothing. In the film Oskar is quite adept at expressing himself in all ways. Also, the people he encounters mostly love and accept him as is. If only that were true about the public at large and kids with autism and Aspterger’s. In fact, it could not be farther from the truth. On the other hand, the film does work if you think of it like magical realism and less like a realistic, linear story.
SPOILER
Finally, my 13 year old loved the movie up until the point where it was revealed that the mother had been following along her son’s journey throughout. For me as a mom, I know that no mother, unless they are severely neglectful, would let their kid run around New York City alone at that age. It just flat out wouldn’t happen. Maybe in the 1970s but not today. And especially not a kid with Asperger’s or autism. The only way that could happen is if the parent genuinely did not care, or was just too damaged to care – but the movie doesn’t want to make it that tough on you. Like all of the nine Best Picture nominees, this isn’t a year about hard emotions or difficult problems; with the exception of Tree of Life, all of the films give easy answers to hard questions. I don’t know why that was the choice for the Academy this year. But that’s how it went down. A spoonful of sugar and all of that.
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I may try and find Roth’s script and read it, because ELIC was the only film I saw this year that I didn’t enjoy at all. Oskar’s tics and precocious nature didn’t really bother me, but his rudeness and the way he explodes in rage at his mother and The Lodger made the tics supplement a rather nasty disposition. I did like the moments he had with john Goodman, Viola Davis, and Jeffrey Wright and wanted more of all three of them.
I suppose my main concern with ELIC involved how virtually every scene was an OSCAR! scene, in the sense that secrets and huge emotional displays and massive revelations so filled the narrative that I felt barraged. I think a low-key tenor would have benefited the Odyssey-type story, and it was a mistake to grant so much time to Oskar as a lead character. Rain Man worked because Cruise was the real star, someone Hoffman bounced off of. ELIC needed a Cruise, as I think Jeff Wells suggested in one of the Oscar Poker podcasts.
I saw the movie and actually liked it. I still was surprise it got a nomination but didn’t mind. It won’t win so why make a fuss about it. It’s not a perfect film but it’s not a bad movie either. For me, it actually made sense that the mother followed him, i actually question the whole movie how can the mother let her kid run around ny by himself. Needless to say, they answered my question.
Thank you for posting this, and THANK you to Beth Arky!
From the second Oskar appeared i knew he had a low spectrum autism syndrome, well i have the advantage of being a psychologist, but i really liked the film because I’ve never seen a film that deals with child autism, which is harder to cope with than adult autism like Rain Man, and many parts of the film made sense because of Oskar’s behavior and his handicap with feelings
Thanks for this. Most of the reactions to this film been beneath response.
I have not read the book or screenplay and don’t have anything to say about lost opportunities. It is clear that the movie is not about autism or 9/11. It is about grief.
I very much enjoyed Oskar’s company and am grateful for young Mr. Horn’s portrayal.
Having lost 200 people, everyone, in the AIDS disaster, I know what it is to experience loss beyond imagining. Oskar’s quest felt very real.
Could give a shit about ELIC’s Oscar career – or the tedious concerns about its plot devices.
Thank you, Sasha. We love you over here!! xoxo
I seriously have no idea why people hate this film. This is by far one of the best films of the year and I can’t seem to find anything wrong with it, and I’ve seen it four times. It seems like me and the Academy are the only ones that truly think it deserves a Best Picture nomination.
The Jewish block of voters got this
film nominated for best picture!
Bryan, stop talking like Eric Cartman and be serious for once.
I meant to see it this weekend but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. They already cut the showings.
Truth be told, I knew the boy in the film had Asperger’s but I thought that was different than autism. I don’t have kids or really know too many of them so I’m not as familiar with the subject as most people. Even still, I didn’t think that’s what the movie was about. But I did read a lot of comments going off on the young actor and I wondered if people knew what they were saying.
@Antoinette: Yeah, it’s not fair to rip Horn because he’s committed and works hard. I just think he was a bit miscast and very mishandled.
Asperger’s is a high-functioning form of autism in which those afflicted remain better engaged with themselves than the outside world. Oskar represents a mild case, but it can be quite severe.
I might be the only one who really liked the movie and adored Oskar – maybe, really, because he was so wonderfully different!!! – and Thomas Horn performance… I agree, It was weird finding out that his mother knew everything about his going around New York, and maybe I didn’t feel offended by the whole 9/11 thing – not offended at all, actually I felt it was very respectfully treated – because I’m European, just like the film’s director, and of course our experience of 9/11 and terrorism was a lot different…
Anyway, thanks Sasha for this arthicle, giving some justice to Oskar’s charachter after it was so badly treted by some press (in some cases, surprisingly… Mick La Salle is usually one of my favourite)
Anyway n.2: If someone wants to read my reaction and review to Extremely Loud in Italian, It’s on my blog: awardstoday.blogspot.com
Cheers!
Thank you Sasha for this post! If a film like this, which emotionally manipulates the audience, was released in 2005 and won an Oscar for Best Picture, it would be called Crash. This statement would seem like I’m going to attack Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, next. But I’m not. In fact I’m one of those people who champion such films. Crash as a film is a marvel for the first hour. Then it descends into unabashed manipulation and that proved effective in then (during 2005) but suffered a severe backlash. (HOW CAN THEY MAKE YOU CRY, OMG!) Extremely Loud is another such film. But the critics are out with the knives this time. Personally, I find nothing wrong with it. Emotional manipulation (or even sentimentality) is better than cerebral manipulation.
When a film like Melancholia manipulates the viewer with great music and beautiful imagery to intellectualize depression and even find validation for it, I have a problem. Especially when you end the whole world with it. Kirsten Dunst’s character actually was a self-absorbed individual who really only needed to be poked by Melissa McCarthy. I find it hard to believe that for the “critics” indulging in cynicism is wonderful but dealing with loss (in whichever way, as long as you’re dealing with it) is cheap and attack-worthy. I also would like to know how manipulative the critics would have thought the film would have been if the Thomas Horn would have been all cute-sy and totally lovable. This aspect of the character suffering from a condition that makes his behavior not-so-likable and even rude (Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia was way way more annoying, personally) was refreshing to watch.
Film criticism is, like all writing, subject to the scrutiny of political correctness. Interest groups with special focus are quick to pounce, so that editorial self censorship is more the beast. It seems more prevalent in United States compared to other Western democracies, the PC-consciousness(or in fact the self censorship).
Yeah, still not sold.
I have Asperger’s Syndrome and I hated that kid. I wanted to stop watching the film altogether several times. The tambourine, the fear of bridges, the fear of public transport, the way Thomas Horn over-articulated – I couldn’t stand him. It was one of the most infuriating film-watching experiences I’ve had.
Autism is no excuse. There are nice people with autism and irritating people with autism. Oskar Schell is one of the irritating ones.
My problem with ELIC is how is treated Oskar’s disorder as more of a hindrance rather than a psychologically defined disorder. It was akin to, say, being afraid of heights. Daldry (and the book, too, maybe – I haven’t read it)used it like a device similar to Ethan Hawke’s shyness in Dead Poet’s Society. My wife suffers from anxiety disorders and, though it’s very different from autism for sure, she would have no physical ability to just “cure it” on her own by going on a journey that forces her to confront things (she can’t even go into the basement without having a panic attack). It doesn’t work like that. But, I won’t go into the details of that side of it, because I can’t even pretend to understand a disease like this. I just know that this film didn’t help clarify it.
I agree with the idea that it felt like everything in the film was a cry for an Academy Award and an appeal for us to feel bad for him. Then you’ve got poor Sandra Bullock, who, for most of the film, is villainized for not handling a son who willingly never interacted with her until he forced to after his father died, on top of her dealing with his death herself.
Von Sydow, though being a moral compass of the film, in a way, did nothing to me that garnered a nomination. Any other elderly actor could have played that part just as well or better. In fact, Christopher Plummer could’ve done it.
I wanted to like this film, but just felt manipulated throughout. No disrespect to Horn, who did very well with the material he was given. But it was just too preachy for me, while trying to pretend it wasn’t.
Good god, I’ve seen less over-analyzing on a Star Wars forum. How on earth could the kid be considered ANNOYING after losing his dad in 9/11? It takes a long time (especially as a kid) to cope with that. I think people are taking the Asperger’s/Autism thing way too seriously. He’s just a 10 year old kid. Give his character development a break.
Haven’t seen the film but the A Beautiful Mind reference just made me out of laugh. Calling “A Beautiful Mind” a film about schizofrenia when it’s just explotation and a The Sixth Sense wannabee, using a “look, The Sixth Sense” based on actual events!
I mean, LOL. To think they gave it to that one the year of Mulholland Drive, Moulin Rouge, Gosford Park… and that such gems as The Others and Hedwig and the Angry Inch were nominationless for ANYTHING. Worse year in the Oscars in the last 2 decades.
My younger brother has autism — I’ve been living with it for 42 years — so I find this very interesting. I haven’t seen the film but will now. I’ve always enjoyed the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein because there’s a touch of autism in his thinking. One of my sons, while not autistic, can get his head in a groove sometimes and I see my brother in him. These are spectrum disorders (or maybe more accurately, forms of consciousness) and it’s very hard to attach an accurate label to it. But I can pretty much pick out autism a mile away.
Thank you, Sasha. We love you over here!! xoxo
Love you, too.
I haven’t seen Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but judging from your description it doesn’t sound that bad compared to a lot of the films that have dealt with the subject of Autism, such as, Adam or Mozart and the Whale. I’m on the spectrum myself so I do kind of get annoyed when I feel that a movie or tv show hasn’t given an accurate depiction of autism. I think a lot of the misconceptions people have about Autism come from movies or tv. Many people still associate it with Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. It’s a great film, but most people with Autism are not card counting savants. There have been a few recent films that I really liked dealing with the subject of Autism like Mary and Max or the HBO film “Temple Grandin”. “Temple Grandin” was pretty popular but I think most of the mainstream films dealing with autism aren’t that accurate.
FYI- The proper term for people not on the spectrum is “neurotypical”
What a wonderful new perspective on this movie …
Autism is poorly understood by the public at large and even by those behavioral pediatricians who treat it …
The mistake people make (I’m not going to begrudge anyone for not knowing) is equating social disability to a lack of intellectual ability. Children and adults with symptoms on the autistic spectrum are very much alive inside, it’s just that the expression of these thoughts and feelings are lost in translation. I’m going to make it a point to go and see this movie because of this article …
Thank you Sasha ; )
To those of you like Ryman and Robert: you’re not the only ones who enjoyed it. I loved it. LOVED it. And if you’ve read the book, I think the portrayal of Oskar was pretty spot-on; don’t really understand the claims that he is annoying. But to each his own.
Don’t attack me all at once, but among this year’s list of Best Picture nominees, ELIC is better than 3 of them in my opinion: War Horse, Descendants and The Help. Yes; I am not head-over-heels about The Descendants unlike many. Regardless of that, I think some of the critical hatred pointed towards Thomas Horn (and his character Oskar) was even more offensive than ELIC supposedly (and in a couple of scenes, yes, actually) playing with its audience’s untouchable emotions. I couldn’t believe when I read those back in the day; and I still can’t believe… I am all for ballsy, honest, opinionated reviews…but this was something else.
Actually, in NYC, kids are running around by themselves all over the place. It’s a different sort of town in many surprising ways.
“Good god, I’ve seen less over-analyzing on a Star Wars forum. How on earth could the kid be considered ANNOYING after losing his dad in 9/11?”
I didn’t know Rudy Giuliani posted here!
i’ll be seeing this on the 25th, with the best picture showcase. i can’t wait iit looks really really good. i kinda of got the feeling the character oskar thomas horn was playing was very bright and gifted but struggled to understand his father’s death in the trailer.
so oskar has autism. i’ll be comparing notes on the 25th because i’m a adult aautistic, myself
Cosby Sweater doesn’t know the answer to a simple question.
I don’t quite know how to say this, but I’ll try.
5 years ago this would probably have won best picture. 50 years from now it will be looked upon as the one that should have won this year. Right now it is not my favourite film of the year, but it is a grower and I have already turned a couple of things I didn’t like when I saw it into positives. Suggest a repeat viewing for anyone that may be interested.
The Oskar character was extremely complex and difficult to get a handle on when I saw it. This is not a character we have seen before. He is unpredictable and comes across as wooden at first glance. But the more I think of his performance, the more I really, really like it.
There was also fine performances by Bullock and Hanks in roles that were bigger than I were lead to believe. I credit Roth and Daldry foremost for bringing out performances we haven’t seen from the two in awhile.
Max Von Sydow is simply brilliant, but the script lets him down a little bit towards the end.
Jeffrey Wright is a revelation and Davis gives a three dimensional performance in a slight by showy role.
Is this a sentimental film? The story cares about all it’s characters deeply and it shows. The dialogue is probably some of the best writing I have heard in a while – nothing is wasted.
Why don’t people like it? I think on the surface of it, it appears the move wears its heart on its sleeve. This was not my experience upon reflection. It cuts much deeper than that.
Oskar is unlike any character I have ever met, but now that I have, he is very real to me.
Finally saw this much despised film and I completely disagree – behind TREE OF LIFE, this is the second best of the 9 Oscar pix!
Nominations for Screenplay (over stinker IDES OF MARCH) and Editing (over too convenient DESCENDANTS) would’ve been great, but it’s a BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR that no one ever gave a shot for clearing the 5-percent-hurdle. Over 250 Oscar voters thought, this was the best they’ve seen in 2011? Couldn’t more agree that the most brilliant film about a boy with a mysterious key looking for the secret of his death father was definitely not HUGO.
I also really liked the film but I have to accept I am not very objective since I am a Daldry fan.
I also read the film more of as a magical storytelling, sort of like In America. Under this perspective is very enjoyable. It does take a little over half an hour before we get into it but once the adventure started I was totally onboard.
Personally I think that the film that should not be amongst the 9 best is War Horse. It feels been there done that. The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo should have definately taken its spot.
I am the mother of an adult son who has pdd-nos, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I agree with the poster, Rob, who looked at this movie, as he watched it, as a magical storytelling or I say adventure. We as parents do not know how to relate sometimes or really understand everything our children are going through. We are excited when we get it and can help with our child’s difficulty, there in, we are on an adventure with our loved one. I feel our life has been ups and downs and hills and valleys with sunshine and rain, sometimes storms-bad ones. It’s not all pretty, but when the sun comes out it’s glorious, because we adore our children and would do anything to see them succeed and be happy as best as they can in this life. It’s difficult and it’s beautiful. These people we are talking about are the most honest and sincere and brilliant as I have ever met. I would rather be with them as with anyone. My son will not lie to you. He is so funny and he is protective of me, and he loves God. He wants to do his best, very much a perfectionist. I have been through the tunnels of life with him, but, through it all, when that light showed up at the other end it was worth it all. Life isn’t always easy or PLEASANT. Why can’t we accept that in our movies. It seems everytime we have to feel or be sensitive anymore, it hurts to bad to do it. We have moved past feeling and compassion, I think. We want to be tickled and numbed down. I’m just glad that I can still feel and care about others and be able to reach out and have compassion for them. That’s all that is wrong with the people who put such terrible insensitive posts on this blog.
If you think back about 9/11 you probably remember that there was a moment when reality was one thing, but then all of a sudden absolutely everything was different. It wasn’t even an emotion or a new way of thinking. It was like someone picked you up just the way you are – didn’t change a thing about YOU or the way you felt and heard and saw the world – and then put you back down in a reality where all those methods of observing the world and relating to the world were useless. On 9/11 we were all “autistic” in a sense because we had no idea of how to process this new reality. I can’t think of another event in my lifetime or possibly ever that could offer a better chance to understand and relate to people who process reality in a way that isn’t “normal.” Forget whether Oskar was or wasn’t annoying or whether the director did or didn’t mean to place the subject of autism over 9/11. What he DID do was offer a place where every single one of us are exactly alike. To do THAT deserves credit that negates any other criticism we might otherwise have.