Little Man Tate

Through the eyes of a exceptionally gifted child of seven, 'Little Man Tate' delivers a riveting insight of the loneliness, maturity, isolation and brilliance of what it is to be highly prodigious yet very young and how imperative it is to achieve a balance when educating and raising such children.

Fred (Adam Hann-Byrd) is a very special little boy. He is able to play complicated musical pieces, pen deep and meaningful poems, calculate complex mathematical problems at an age when his classmates are still learning to tie their shoes and mastering their alphabet. He's a child old before his time, capable of thoughts far beyond the average adult's understanding, but at the core of it all, he is still just a seven-year-old who wants to fit in at school and have friends. His mother Dede, played by Jodie Foster, determines the best way to raise her beloved son is to treat him like any other child to the extent that she never really acknowledges his gifts, whereas Jane Grierson (Dianne Wiest) is on the other end of the scale as a psychologist whose speciality is gifted children. Jane takes an interest in Fred, believing his intelligence must be nurtured even if it means plonking a tot of seven into a university full of young adults.

Jodie Foster and Dianne Wiest deliver strong, solid performances as two women who both love this child and just want what is best for him, even if their approaches are very different. However, it is Adam Hann-Byrd who steals the show as the lead character of Fred. He depicts the brilliance of the character as well as his awkwardness in dealing with both 'normal' contemporaries and fellow gifted children. He is wonderful in showing how Fred is just a kid who wants to be liked, and how he desperately needs the adults around him to provide him a balance between being treated like the seven-year-old he is while allowing his towering intellect to thrive.

This film takes us into the heart of what it is to be a child prodigy and how it can be both a gift and a curse. We see Fred surpassing his adult classmates in his university course yet he struggles to interact with peers his own age who are of average intelligence. Through him, it is easy to see that being perceived as 'normal' can be the greatest gift of all. It also highlights the abysmal state of the state education system in teaching such children.

I really recommend this film as it delivers this fascinating story in a manner that is bittersweet, touching and, at times, humorous. The characters are all interesting and likable and you can't help but feel for Fred's joys and woes.

Little Man Tate has it's moments. Fortunately, it doesn't run into the problems of other kid-oriented movies by falling into stereotype. If it did, Fred would have glasses and acne problems like every other geek. I am happy that they found a decent child actor to carry the weight of the production (much like Empire of the Sun). There just isn't that much to say about this movie other than that it appeals only to a selective few.

I will be honest, this could have been better and deeper, but Jodie Foster didn't want it to and so she winds up being the Virgin Mary in this movie. I know that doesn't make a lot of sense here, but if you see it you'll understand. Perhaps she is becoming an egotist. Still, between Revenge of the Nerds and this, I'll take this.

Overall, not necessary viewing, but you could do worse. 3 out of 5 stars.

I was mainly interested in this film because of the subject - the predicament of a child genius. Half way through it I was captivated, not so much by the subject(in part because of the way it was handled), but by the child genius himself. Adam Hann-Byrd is thoroughly captivating. Rendering a sympathetic performance, he's almost bewitching! He even looks a lot like Jodie Foster. And it's to her credit as a director for finding such a perfect little actor to play such a complex role. Jodie Foster herself gives a moving performance as a struggling mother who is suddenly made to feel incapacitated, both financially and mentally, as the mother of a child prodigy. Diane Wiest's choice of characters has always been interesting. From 'Edward Scissorhands' to 'Birdcage', 'Practical magic' and still other films, she's usually played characters who are slightly quirky, odd or non-conformist, with a touch of humor in them. Over here she plays to perfection the role of the demanding, independent mentor of Fred Tate with a warped emotional intelligence.

One grouse though...as far Diane Wiest's character is concerned. I think her role is too much of an extreme as compared to Jodie Foster's. At the end of the film, Wiest's character, Jane Grierson ends up looking sheepish, repenting and even stupid to an extent. The end is almost sort of an ode to perfect motherhood, decrying the failure of the poor mentor spending tons of money by taking prodigies under her wing. It seems to say, child prodigies don't need all that specialized atmosphere, don't need special benefits, when in fact they do. I'm not saying that they ought to be living in state-of-the-art cages where they will only interact with other prodigies. But they do need a lot of other benefits that ordinary schools which underestimate the intelligence of even "normal" people just cannot provide. Child geniuses need to be dealt with very sensitively, keeping in mind their advanced faculties all the time and an atmosphere has to be created for them to properly nurture their special gifts. Somehow this film, by showing Jane Grierson as obviously insensitive, indirectly puts forth a bad case for special training for child geniuses. The real test of motherhood and Dede's feelings of jealousy towards Jane would have been explored if Jane, along with her maternal feelings for Fred would have also been shown to be sensitive or considerate. Instead we are made to laugh at Jane because she offers Fred some brown fruit/veggie juice and he asks for Coke... So that's it. This film is good, not for the content or it's resolution, but for the acting. Kudos to Adam Hann-Byrd!

This movie is obviously what one would call "labour of love". It's a pleasure to watch. The story shows beautifully what a thousand articles on math prodigies cannot- that even geniuses need love and that no matter how "genius" that child is he is still only a kid.

She brings out the subtleties of her character. Fred seems adult-like in a child's world and yet deals with child-like simplicity in an adult's world. Jane is the headmistress of a school for the gifted, who believes that her theories on child-prodigies can bring out Fred's best talents, but forgets that Fred's best is not in his head but in his heart. Working to give her child the best yet fierce-fully protective of Fred is his mother Dede. This movie perfectly capture the heartbreaking events that can happen when a child is given too much attention but no affection. Hats off to Adam Byrd who gives a very nuanced performance. Both Jodie Foster and Nancy show the little personality clashes very well. Jodie foster has done a great job when she shows Dede's reaction and then later Jane's reaction to the fact that Fred has had a nightmare.I hope to be able to see more movies from her.

I was hoping for a little more on the "troubled, somewhat misunderstood genius kid" story. That being said, this is still a very enjoyable flick. And, as always, Jodie Foster knocks her role out of the park. Other characters felt like they needed touching up, either in the acting or writing department. Maybe both.

Certainly worth your time if you're a fan of Jodie Foster, but don't expect to be blown away.