Jack of the Red Hearts (2015) was directed by Janet Grillo. It stars Jenny Jaffe as "Jack," who changes her identity so that she can be hired as a live-in assistant by a family with a child with autism. She needs the money, and she needs a safe place to stay. She has no knowledge of how to work with a child with autism, but she is savvy and she learns fast. OK--some of the scenes were a little syrupy, but there was just a small suspension of disbelief required. Most of the scenes looked real and powerful to me.
The movie is fascinating in many ways--it has great acting, especially by Jenny Jaffe, and it doesn't shy away from presenting the heartrending difficulties a family faces when they are raising a child with this disability.
My compliments to director Grillo, and to Taylor Richardson, who plays Glory, the child with autism. Grillo makes the action real, including showing us what Glory sees and hears as she confronts the frightening world around her. Taylor Richardson is an amazing actor. She doesn't drop out of character for a moment. She has autism, and she doesn't let you forget it.
We saw this film at the wonderful Dryden Theatre as part of the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY. It will work well on the small screen.
