I feel I have to write an apologia for my rating, because this is actually an 8.5 film for me.
This is destined to become a cult classic. It's been written about plenty before how this captures a time before the internet accelerated fandom and yet while there was remarkable TV (escapism) being produced. Jane Schoenbrun's genius--besides a couple excellent transitions--is that she achieves art by producing questions, not answers.
The principal actors (including the boy who depicts the main character as a pre-teen) have to be commended, as it's got to be exceedingly difficult to act autism, or more to the point to depict a character who's emotionally distanced themself from reality due to the mental torture of being unable to express their authentic self. There are plenty of shining moments, and Brigette Lundy-Paine in particular achieves an enigmatic performance that will be worth returning to for cinephiles for the rest of time. But there are moments when even Brigette overacts (especially early on), and the other actors aren't always able to succeed in portraying awkward surfaces with resonant emotional sublimation.
The cinematography is quite good, although it doesn't rise to the greatest-of-all-time that would deserve a 10/10.
What the movie could really have done without is the voiceovers/direct addresses. Maybe that postmodern extravagance is supposed to be reminiscent of the '90s shows which are being evoked--although that seemed to be done more in kids' shows--but it doesn't add meaning to the film's narrative.
This is destined to become a cult classic. It's been written about plenty before how this captures a time before the internet accelerated fandom and yet while there was remarkable TV (escapism) being produced. Jane Schoenbrun's genius--besides a couple excellent transitions--is that she achieves art by producing questions, not answers.
The principal actors (including the boy who depicts the main character as a pre-teen) have to be commended, as it's got to be exceedingly difficult to act autism, or more to the point to depict a character who's emotionally distanced themself from reality due to the mental torture of being unable to express their authentic self. There are plenty of shining moments, and Brigette Lundy-Paine in particular achieves an enigmatic performance that will be worth returning to for cinephiles for the rest of time. But there are moments when even Brigette overacts (especially early on), and the other actors aren't always able to succeed in portraying awkward surfaces with resonant emotional sublimation.
The cinematography is quite good, although it doesn't rise to the greatest-of-all-time that would deserve a 10/10.
What the movie could really have done without is the voiceovers/direct addresses. Maybe that postmodern extravagance is supposed to be reminiscent of the '90s shows which are being evoked--although that seemed to be done more in kids' shows--but it doesn't add meaning to the film's narrative.