Owen, who heralds from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was diagnosed with regressive autism at the age of three, and consequently remained silent for years until his parents, Ron (Pulitzer-winning writer for the Wall Street Journal) and Cornelia Suskind, discovered his deep resonance with Disney features, specifically with supporting characters who tend to elude the spotlight. This non-linear film, based on Ron Suskind's biography, chronicles Owen's quest to navigate the ups and downs of growing up, all with the aid of Disney as his reference guide.
Emotional realism in any film, fictional or not, is challenging when Disney is involved. For a better part of the first half, which builds up Owen's entrance into a self-sufficient lifestyle, I found myself wishing for a less manipulative tone. The electronic score by Dylan Thomas and Todd Griffin felt saccharine, and the parallels between Owen's real-life drama and the Disney sequences he simultaneously revisits felt suspiciously on-point.
Then Owen settles into assisted living, and the tone of the film settles down as well. Owen's grievances over romantic heartbreak and job-hunting woes feel uncompromising, and we get further acquainted with Walter, Owen's loving but grounded brother whose mere mention of Disney porn excuses much of the film's gratuitous Disney propaganda. Director Roger Ross Williams knows Ron Suskind from years of working with him in broadcast news, so his presence in Owen's life during principal photography must have felt comfortable enough to forgive some obtrusive camerawork.
The aforementioned original animation in the film depicts Owen's emotional experiences. It germinates as sketchy, black-and-white pastel storyboards that represent his loneliness and uncertainty, but blossoms into fluid, full-color fantasy as he delves into his imagination and recruits Disney sidekicks to help vanquish 'Fuzzbutch', the embodiment of darkness in his life. The progression is obvious but nonetheless effective.
I attended a screening of the film with a moderated Q&A with Mr. and Mrs. Suskind, and they claimed that Owen felt the animation - provided by heads of the French animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff (Despicable Me) was almost how he envisioned his escapades. While the animators sought to be true to Owen's point-of-view, I wonder if the their work might have benefited from hewing closer to Owen's own crude, imperfect childhood renderings of the classic characters.
But the animation, and the film on the whole, respects Owen's individuality and does not try to celebrate or over-emphasize his continuing integration into society. Only after the screening did the Suskinds inform us that, along with working at a Cape Cod multiplex, Owen co-hosts a radio program and teaches kids how to draw. Owen's story is a worthwhile glimpse into what autism feels like from the inside out, and I recommend finding it before it leaves cinemas by the end of August!
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