Please Stand By

Heartwarming enough to keep it interesting till the end, this movie is simple, dramatic enough, and just that. No overplaying the autistic card, not overreacting, no tragedies. A simple story, about an autistic girl who wants to make her dreams come true and live a normal life. And it's worth watching it.

"Like Spock, for example. He's half-human, half-alien. He has trouble dealing with his emotions. Where did it say that? That's just how he is."

Although "Stand by me" is a fairly predictable film and unrestrainedly endeavors to strike a sensitive nerve, I'm all for such a type of film. The number of films about individuals with a disability, who try to survive in our society where perfection is the standard nowadays, and who succeed in making great achievements, is endless. "I am Sam", "Forrest Gump", "Rain Man", "The theory of everything", "Still Alice", "X + Y" and "Who's driving doug", to name but a few. These are all films where one feels sorry for the main character first. And after a while you realize that these persons surpass all expectations and amaze themselves about their own abilities. Just like Wendy (Dakota Fanning), who suffers from a severe form of autism so that communicating with her environment is a huge obstacle and her daily life is determined by a strict schedule. Handing in a self-written script for a "Star Trek" episode, however, ensures that this well-ordered and well-defined life is shaken up.

All due respect to Dakota Fanning. The way she played this complex character deserves all praise. She distanced herself from all the possibilities available to portray Wendy with all possible tics and ridiculous rituals. Also the phenomenon of autism was not unnecessarily enlarged by her. Apart from the compulsive writing down of all kinds of facts in her notebook and the pattern of colorful sweaters she's wearing on specific days, she seems to function reasonably normal. Not as Freddie Higmore who plays a similar character in "The Good Doctor" with a forced intonation making him sound like a voice computer with incorrectly installed software from Lernout & Hauspie. And yes, I know the spectrum of autism is fairly broad. But I appreciated the modesty with which Dakota Fanning played the person Wendy.

Also Toni "Miss you already" Collette played a not so bad part as Scottie who leads the home where Wendy lives. A patient and passionate person who guides each individual in this center and tries to point these individuals the right way towards a bearable personal life. It wasn't immediately clear to me whether Scottie was her real name or a kind of joke because of Wendy's passion for the television series "Star Trek". Frankly, I felt that all other characters fulfilled their job in an orderly manner. The fact they came across as plain add-ons is entirely due to the beautiful acting of Dakota Fanning of course. The entire film shows how Wendy's trust grows and she shifts her own boundaries (even if it's just crossing a specific street).

"Please stand by" is not primarily about how autists handle themselves and how confusing their view on life is. The subject isn't really thoroughly explored or explained in this area. I can't even remember the word autism being pronounced once. Only a brief remark by a devout, old female about her grandson who displays an identical behavior. It's actually a kind of adventurous quest with the ultimate goal of delivering the filmscript. And so Wendy needs to follow a path, completely normal for average people, where she meets a lot of people with bad intentions. And each time she's saved by caring persons. Almost something like Frodo and that damn ring he had to throw in Mount Doom. Also a risky quest full of obstacles and devious creatures. But then without the autism phenomenon.

Finally, a big applaus for the dog Pete who accompanies Wendy the whole way. They looked like Dorothy and Toto heading for the Wizard of Oz. Fortunately, the duo wasn't as annoying as Reese Witherspoon and her little pooch in a pink outfit in "Legally Blonde". And the most surprising moment was when a policeman talked to Wendy in a very remarkable way. But you have to discover that yourself when you watch this engaging and charming film.

P.S. If the script "The many and the few" really exists, I hope it'll become a real film. The fragments of text that were read, sounded intriguing!

More reviews here : movie-freak.be

Not sure which movie the two who slated this movie watched but I thought Dakota was as great. I've lived with an autistic person and it's so difficult to get it right because they are all different. This is a good feel movie and was directed perfectly.

Similar to the Asperger's Syndrome film "Adam" of a decade earlier, "Please Stand By" tells of a 21-year-old autistic woman thrust into the sudden need to be self-sufficient, styled in the format of a traditional Road Movie. Quality casting and acting fail to overcome scripting issues that result in a timid, unfortunately bland result.

At the advance screening I attended, in the audience discussion following the showing a viewer disparaged the movie by comparing it to a Hallmark Channel TV movie. That was a bit harsh, but it did suffer from being well-meaning but low impact.

Dakota Fanning exquisitely plays the young girl living at a communal house run by ever-patient Earth Mother Toni Collette, with her regimented daily routine clearly set out, right down to which sweater she must wear each day of the week. Cutesy gimmick dominating the film in Michael Golamco's facile script has her obsessed with her 400-plus-page screenplay to be completed for a Paramount Pictures writing competition.

In order to meet an impending deadline she sets out by bus from Oakland to Los Angeles to hand in her script, and scripter Golamco, a graduate of the "Grimm" TV series, piles on the problems she encounters on the road. Notably she is robbed by a mean-spirited couple, replete with baby in tow, and even suffers a concussion from a crash after being befriended by wonderful Marla Gibbs, out shopping via Shuttle Bus from her retirement home.

The real issues underlying the care for an autistic relative are brought to light by the role of Dakota's older sister, very well-played by Alice Eve in a departure from her usual "too beautiful for words" casting. However, I was heavily distracted by the sister act in that even in home movies of the duo as young kids, all I could think of was Dakota and her real-life acting sister Elle, the logical if too obvious casting for such a picture, in which Elle would have gotten Dakota's role here.

Self-indulgence by Golamco is fatal to the overall effect of the picture, especially in many contrived scenes aiming too blatantly at warmth, typified by an otherwise amusing conversation in the Klingon language (!) between Fanning and an ultra-kindly and far, far from realistic cop who was chasing her. Ultimately the semi-happy, upbeat ending, a bit in the "Go the distance" cliche vein of Stallone's "Rocky" ties the bow on this ephemeral package.

It suffered from what I term the Indie Syndrome, as over the past four decades the notion of Indie Films has been raised on a pedestal and marketed to an audience as an alternative to commercial cinema. Certainly indies such as the first films of artists like John Sayles, Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Wayne Wang and the Coen Bros. made their mark, but the originality and even quirkiness of these fledgling efforts of 30-plus years back have given way to a mundane sameness in recent "indie" product. "Please Stand By" is typical: attracting top talent to play meaty roles for the love of their art (rather than big pay-days) in a resulting film that is minor and low-key almost on purpose. The pretentiousness of a "Big Picture" is thankfully lacking, but also is the demonstration of importance.

If you're not a Star Trek fan, don't be put off, it's a minor sub plot. Great film which shows some of the struggles autistic people suffer everyday but with a lighthearted take. Worth the watch!