5 hours ago
9
Anyone with autism or close to someone with the condition might feel inclined to be forbearing of this family drama about a father and his autistic son, given its plea for acceptance and love. But yikes – it is so sappy, ill-conceived and bloated with sanctimonious religious messaging, it is a slog to get through. If, however, you feel that watching it is almost an act of charity in itself (apparently some of the proceeds will go toward supporting carers), admire this at least for being one of the few feature films that tries to depict more challenged autistic people who need support (also known by the now-contested label of “low functioning”). Also to its credit, the film opens with a disclaimer that acknowledges that “the autism spectrum is wide and varied” and that “this film reflects the individual experiences of two characters and is not intended to represent every autistic story”.
The main character here is Elijah (played as a child by Reece Turley and then as an adult by Caleb Milby), a young man first met just after a violent meltdown that has ravaged the family’s Christmas decorations. Elijah’s father Ty (John Wells) attempts to comfort the distraught teen, with help from Elijah’s favourite stuffed toy, polar bear Nook. Flashforward seven years, and Elijah is now in some kind of secure hospital, barely distinguishable from a jail, partly because his mother Pam (Layla Cushman), divorced from Ty, just wants to offload him on the state and wash her hands of him while Ty struggles to maintain his career as an architect.
Signifying his descent into despair, Ty is contemplating suicide and now fantasises that he can see a lifesize version of Nook (basically an actor – Al Snow – in a plushie costume), a 12A version of Ted from the Seth MacFarlane franchise with no swearing or penis jokes. On the advice of Nook, Ty ends up taking Elijah for an unscheduled Christmas holiday to the South Carolina shore, much to the fury of Pam – although it seems what he’s doing isn’t strictly illegal.
While all that’s going on, benevolent Christian plutocrat Reggie Sinclair (Daniel Roebuck) is getting antsy about when Ty will finish the designs for the arena he’s commissioned. But when Reggie sees posts to Instagram by Elijah showing him and Ty on their mostly jolly road trip, Reggie melts, especially since he has an autistic son himself (Seth Phrampus).
Director Tyler Sansom and his team of screenwriters flail around trying to pull the storylines together, but still forget to create coherent reasons for characters to move from one situation to another. If we’re being honest, the dialogue is pretty dreadful, which only serves to highlight how weak the acting is – but its heart is in the right place.
