{"id":1063,"date":"2016-09-13T17:23:14","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T16:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2017-08-08T19:31:04","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T18:31:04","slug":"film-review-x-y","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2016\/09\/13\/film-review-x-y\/","title":{"rendered":"Film Review: X + Y"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>X+ Y- UK, 2014, directed by Morgan Matthews<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Reviewed by Dr Khalid Ali, Screening Room Editor<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Books, films and plays exploring the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have traditionally met with critical acclaim; \u2018The Reason I Jump\u2019 (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Reason_I_Jump\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Reason_I_Jump<\/a>), \u2018The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time&#8217; (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time<\/a>), and \u2018Rain Man&#8217;, USA, 1988, directed by Barry Levinson (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rain_Man\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rain_Man<\/a>)\u00a0being notable examples.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018X +Y\u2019 is a film in the league of cinematic outings inspired by a true story exploring ASD. Nathan Ellis (Asa Butterfield) is a young teenager who was diagnosed as a child with ASD. Following his father\u2019s untimely death in a car accident, he rejects his mother Julie&#8217;s (Sally Hawkins) attempts to bond emotionally. Nathan\u2019s Maths teacher in school, Mr Humphreys (Rafe Spall) recognises Nathan&#8217;s\u00a0gift for numbers, and offers to mentor him in the preparations to be a member of the UK team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). After being selected to represent the UK, a trip to Taiwan forces Nathan to deal with bullying, peer pressure, as well as the woes of first love with a fellow Maths prodigy Zhang Mei (Jo Yang). Nathan starts to reconsider his priorities in life. Is bonding with numbers and calculus theories more rewarding than bonding with humans? Can he transform his teacher\u2019s bleak views on life? Can he reconnect with his mother?<\/p>\n<p>The film is based on the life of Daniel Lightwing who represented the UK in the IMO in Slovenia in 2006, and whose story was first seen in the documentary film \u2018Beautiful Young Minds\u2019 (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beautiful_Young_Minds\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beautiful_Young_Minds<\/a>). Being a fiction film, \u2018X+Y\u2019 deviates from Daniel Lightwing\u2019s life story in several key areas: the IMO was held in Slovenia, and not in Cambridge, Daniel\u2019s father did not die in a car accident, and his Maths teacher was a woman, and not a man as seen in &#8216;X + Y&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The film depicts several common features of ASD (social deficits, communication difficulties, and stereotyped behaviour). As the story unfolds, the viewer is led to empathise with Nathan\u2019s mother in her frustration to understand what is going through his head; his refusal to hold her hand at his father\u2019s funeral, his outburst after getting a Chinese take-away with an even number of prawn balls, and his harsh remarks that she is not \u2018clever enough\u2019. Obviously one film cannot cover all issues relating to the complexity of a family\u2019s reactions to raising a child with ASD. However, &#8216;X + Y&#8217;\u00a0does go a long way towards\u00a0shedding a light on\u00a0analysing the feelings of guilt, as well as on the\u00a0self-doubt that some parents experience. Such themes were similarly dissected in more detail in the UK TV series \u2018The A word\u2019 (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_A_Word\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_A_Word<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Through imaginative use of light and sound, the film convincingly demonstrates the phenomenon of synaesthesia, where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to an automatic and involuntary experience in a second sensory or cognitive pathway: Nathan\u2019s mathematical puzzles are thus transformed in his brain into shapes of bright colours. His outstanding mathematical skills make him a \u2018savant\u2019; however this gift does not bring him happiness or contentment. Nathan\u2019s isolation is felt even amongst his peers at the Maths camp in Taiwan. Having a gift for numbers can be a curse as well as a blessing &#8211; being totally absorbed in the world of numbers alienates the \u2018synaesthetist\u2019 child from his school peers &#8211; he\/she is perceived as\u00a0the school nerd\/geek who\u00a0most kids avoid and ridicule.<\/p>\n<p>With its heart in the right place, the messages that \u2018X+Y\u2019 conveys &#8211; an\u00a0understanding of people who are different, promoting tolerance and empathy &#8211; are welcome. However, it risks perpetuating the notion that children with ASD have to be exceptionally talented to be accepted by society, what Nathan\u2019s companion in the Squad team describes as \u2018If you (someone with ASD) have the gift, you will be called \u2018gifted but weird\u2019, but if you don\u2019t have a gift, you will be labelled as \u2018weird\u2019 only\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The viewer potentially\u00a0struggles with too many plots &#8211; Mr Humphrey\u2019s problems with MS, drug addiction, and social isolation warrants an entire film alone. Nathan\u2019s story has a happy ending, and provides a crowd-pleasing moment, but it underestimates the harsh realities lived by children and families affected by ASD. Still, it is a welcome piece of film making that is both moving and brave in its depiction of\u00a0what it feels like to be diagnosed with ASD.<\/p>\n<p>Address for correspondence: <a href=\"mailto:khalid.ali@bsuh.nhs.uk\">khalid.ali@bsuh.nhs.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<!--TrendMD v2.4.8--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; X+ Y- UK, 2014, directed by Morgan Matthews Reviewed by Dr Khalid Ali, Screening Room Editor &nbsp; Books, films and plays exploring the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have traditionally met with critical acclaim; \u2018The Reason I Jump\u2019 (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Reason_I_Jump), \u2018The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time&#8217; (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time), and \u2018Rain Man&#8217;, USA, 1988, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2016\/09\/13\/film-review-x-y\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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