John Duigan Molly Character Analysis

In John Duigan's movie Molly, a woman in her late twenties named Molly is shown to be suffering from autism. Molly is revealed to be living in an institution from a young age following her parent's death. When the institution's funding is cut off, Molly is left in the care of her older brother, Buck McKay an an advertising executive and perennial bachelor. Buck's life is completely altered with Molly's hyperemotional behaviour which continuously leads him to frustration. Molly then undergoes an experimental surgery where genetically modified brain cells are implanted into her brain. At first the surgery seems unsuccesful, but it is gradually seen that Molly's behaviour is changing. She begins to speak fluidly and interact normally with others. However, the effects are not long lasting and Molly regresses back into her former self. At the end of the film, Buck is shown to accept Molly's autism and promises to stay in her life. The disibility shown in John Duigan's Molly is autism. Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder

For example, I appreciated the acting from Elisabeth Shue who portrayed the autistic Molly. She displayed real symptoms of autism that were easy to interpret and explained why she acted the way she did. I liked the explanation of life from the perspective of an individual with autism. Specifically the line where Molly explains how "in your world, almost everything's controlled. But for us, it's all a jumble, and sometimes you just have to scream. So people look at you strangely and talk about you as if you're not even there, but you always know what they're saying."(Molly) Molly provided a raw insight into the mind of an autistic and shows the struggle of being percieved as something negative by others. The one thing I did not enjoy about the film was the flatness of the characters. Other than Molly, I was not able to get insight on most characters and their emotions throughout the