Oskar’s constant commentary, social difficulties, severe anxiety and overwhelming sensory issues all point toward an autism spectrum disorder, although he reports at one point that he was screened for Asperger’s, but the result was “inconclusive.” So autism advocates were quick to find offense when reviewers like The New York Times‘ Manohla Dargis proclaimed that in real life Oskar “would be one of those children who inspire some adults to coo and cluck while reminding others of how grateful they are to be child-free.” Worse, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called him “creepy,” “weird,” “snappish” and “superior.” Autism Key‘s Michelle Gonzalez found the trend disturbing. Much of the vitriol was aimed at director Stephen Daldry- Rotten Tomatoes said that while Loud is a story worth telling, “it deserves better than the treacly and pretentious treatment…Daldry gives it.” But some of the harshest, not to mention most surprising, salvos were fired at the character of Oskar, the 9-year-old at the center of the story. The critics came down so hard on Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, the film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a boy’s struggle to make sense of his father’s death on 9/11, that when the Oscar nominations were announced, the Huffington Post heralded it as the “Worst Reviewed Movie of the Past 10 Years” to receive a Best Picture nod.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |