This is a multi-faceted story with so many nuances that it doesn't surprise me that so many people who watch it miss most of them.
While watching this on IFC (Independent Film Channel), I was perusing the user comments and wondering where I'd fit in, once I'd reached the end of the film. I don't fit anywhere, really. I knew from about 45 seconds into the film where this child was going (to the moon, for her father). Exactly 44 minutes into the film Ruth tells the doctor her daughter is NOT autistic. He says "No, she's not, but..." So you see never once is this child "diagnosed" autistic. Jake the doctor and Ruth the mother are seeking the same goal, from completely different points of reference. They are BOTH right - but in the end it's the mother (who is herself "special") who has the better instincts - and it's that wondrous architectural "House of Cards" that ultimately brings her daughter back.
Key scenes? There are so many I hesitate to list any of them, but here are a couple: The American Indian construction worker who "rescues" Sally from the beam (or whatever it's supposed to be) and communicates with her on some silent, almost mystical, level was beautiful to behold.
Sally's softball catch was a REAL clue, as was her retrieval of older brother Michael's plane from the roof and her foray back onto the roof for the softball. From her fearless internal world she was able to do what most of us cannot.
All of the actors were terrific, but I think Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of the troubled doctor was superlative, as most of his portrayals are.
If you decide to give this film a shot - PLEASE - pay real attention to the details. Without them you'll never get "the point."
While watching this on IFC (Independent Film Channel), I was perusing the user comments and wondering where I'd fit in, once I'd reached the end of the film. I don't fit anywhere, really. I knew from about 45 seconds into the film where this child was going (to the moon, for her father). Exactly 44 minutes into the film Ruth tells the doctor her daughter is NOT autistic. He says "No, she's not, but..." So you see never once is this child "diagnosed" autistic. Jake the doctor and Ruth the mother are seeking the same goal, from completely different points of reference. They are BOTH right - but in the end it's the mother (who is herself "special") who has the better instincts - and it's that wondrous architectural "House of Cards" that ultimately brings her daughter back.
Key scenes? There are so many I hesitate to list any of them, but here are a couple: The American Indian construction worker who "rescues" Sally from the beam (or whatever it's supposed to be) and communicates with her on some silent, almost mystical, level was beautiful to behold.
Sally's softball catch was a REAL clue, as was her retrieval of older brother Michael's plane from the roof and her foray back onto the roof for the softball. From her fearless internal world she was able to do what most of us cannot.
All of the actors were terrific, but I think Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of the troubled doctor was superlative, as most of his portrayals are.
If you decide to give this film a shot - PLEASE - pay real attention to the details. Without them you'll never get "the point."