Molly (film)

Molly is a 1999 romantic comedy-drama film about a 28 year old woman with autism who came into the custody of her neurotic executive brother. The film was directed by John Duigan and written by Dick Christie, and stars Elisabeth Shue, Aaron Eckhart, and Jill Hennessy.

Plot

Elisabeth Shue plays the title character, Molly McKay, a 28-year-old woman with autism who has lived in an institution from a young age following her parents' death in a car accident. When the institution must close due to budget cuts, Molly is left in the charge of her neurotypical older brother, Buck McKay (Aaron Eckhart), an advertising executive and perennial bachelor. Molly, who verbalizes very little and is obsessed with lining up her shoes in neat rows, throws Buck's life into a tailspin as she runs off her nurses and barges into a meeting at Buck's agency naked.

When Buck consults Molly's neurologist, Susan Brookes (Jill Hennessy) suggests an experimental surgery in which genetically modified brain cells are implanted into Molly's brain. While Buck initially balks at the suggestion, he finally consents to the surgery and Molly makes a gradual but miraculous "recovery", speaking fluidly and interacting with others in a "normal" way. Buck begins taking Molly to social events, like a production of Romeo and Juliet, a baseball game, and expensive dinners. However, after a few months, Molly's brain begins to reject the transplanted cells and she begins to regress into her former state. Both Molly and Buck must accept the eventual loss of Molly's "cure" and her regression to her previous state.

While Buck initially rejects Molly and sends her to another institution, in the final scene of the film, Buck accepts Molly's autism and vows to remain in Molly's life by creating a room for her at his home that looks just like the room she had at the institution.

Base story

The story was based on the novel Flowers for Algernon which involved a man with a developmental disability who is treated with a similar surgery and becomes a genius, but he soon regresses.

External links

• Molly at the Internet Movie Database