Molly

The story may not be original, but it was Elisabeth Shue's performance that captivated me. I am surprised she didn't get more acclaim. Molly is such a difficult character to play and Elisabeth's acting was supurb and incredibly believable. I was just made an even bigger fan of her work.

I really wanted to like this movie but after 20 depressing minutes I started to play with my cat and do housework. The acting is mediocre and some performers are wasted. I feel this is probably due to the choppy editing which confused me. It seemed like whole sections were missing from the movie making me wonder did I miss something. The story was done much better in a wonderful film called "CHARLEY" with Cliff Robertson based on FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON. Apparently the movie premiered on airplanes and that should be a warning that the film is pretty awful. Elizabeth Shue gives a fine performance as the lead character and in some scenes she is quite touching. On the whole the best thing about watching this movie was I got to clean my apartment.

I recently rented Molly and i loved it. Mainly because of Jill Hennessy but also because of the character Molly. After about 30min thru the movie you start to think about how it will feel like being autistic then Molly eventually tells how it feels. The movie is funny, dramatic, interesting and a very beautiful movie. The only thing that i did not like about the movie is the ending.

Loosely cribbed from Daniel Keyes' novel "Flowers for Algernon" this moist tale follows experimental surgery subject, Molly who overcomes autism only to regress as the procedure's effects fade. We're supposed to realize that, the mentally disabled are people to - and have something to teach us. But this ham fisted tale ends up communicating a less profound message more along the lines of - some of them like to obsessively line up shoes.

This is a touching, bittersweet and wonderful film about an autistic woman who gains full use of her cognitive reasoning through an experimental procedure. Molly (Elizabeth Shue) is a 28 year old autistic who has been institutionalized much of her life. When the institution closes, she is left in the care of her self absorbed brother Buck (Aaron Eckhart). She is recommended for a new experimental procedure which transforms her into a normal young woman. As the story unfolds we see her grow from a child into a woman with many sweet and funny moments resulting from Molly's view of the world through childlike eyes. As her relationship with her brother grows, his transformation is as dramatic as hers.

The film was charmingly done with a coming of age quality about it. There were numerous comical and heart warming moments resulting from Molly's misperception of a world she is trying to make sense of.

The only thing working against this film is the fact that this ground has been retraced in so many ways that it suffers from the tendency to compare it to other films. It has elements of ‘Flowers for Algernon', ‘Rainman', ‘At First Sight' and ‘Awakenings'. It is difficult for a film to be fully appreciated when the viewer is mentally comparing it to all these other stories. That is a pity in this case because this really is a lovable story in its own right.

Elizabeth Shue gives us marvelous performance as Molly. Her portrayal of autism is realistic and endearing. She is so childlike that you really sense that she has the mind of a 3 year old. Later, as she transitions to the mind of an adult, she retains that childlike naiveté that gives the character a purity and wisdom that is fresh and free from cynicism. It was a wonderful performance that regrettably will not be seen by many since this film lives in obscurity as a single facing on the rental shelves.

I rated Molly an 8/10. On an emotional level, I really enjoyed it more than that, but I felt compelled to subtract a couple of points for lack of originality. However, if you enjoy human interest stories this one will certainly touch your heart.