Miracle Run

A moving true story of growing up autistic Mary-Louise Parker plays well.

Single mom Corrine Morgan has just discovered that her seven-year-old twin boys, Steven and Phillip, are autistic. In one fell swoop, her boyfriend tells her that he can't handle the responsibility of playing parent to her kids, and the school district admits that it doesn't want to supervise the twins anymore. To top it off, she is struggling to make ends meet. While any other woman might have waved a white flag and surrendered to all these obstacles, the spirited Morgan decides to fight back - for herself and, more importantly, for her boys. Through pure determination she helps Steven and Phillip make incredible strides, surpassing everyone's expectations. Inspired by actual events, "Miracle Run" is sure to make you believe that anything is possible in your own life and that you too can tackle insurmountable odds and come out a winner.

"Miracle Run" is not the first film to take on the subject of autism, but it is likely the most affirmative, and that is something significant.

I, myself, have Asperger's Syndrome, which puts me on the autistic spectrum, something I didn't know the first time I saw this film. Yet, even on the first viewing, something that caught my attention was the scene where the young Steven Morgan is transfixed by an air conditioner vent on the ceiling as he is being interviewed by a psychiatrist. This is exactly something that happened to me when I was a few years older than Steven was.

I bring this up because I feel autism and autistic spectrum orientations are far more common than thought, and I have a feeling many people watching this film have more in common with the Morgans than they think they do. Because of this, the film has tremendous importance. The Morgan twins, who were branded as hopeless when children, and castigated in High School as "retards" for their manner of speech and movement, neither were, nor are, hopeless or mentally challenged. They simply think and learn differently.

The film somewhat makes these points. Somewhere in Corinne Morgan's struggle to get appropriate education for her sons is the message that our educational system is geared only for those capable of learning in traditional ways. The film does say that once the boys have been taught in a way that connects with their learning styles, they are fully functional and able to not only be but excel in High School.

"Miracle Run" does make note of the remarkable abilities of its protagonists, something alluded to at the very beginning by Phillip watching a Superman cartoon. Indeed, even before the running gag begins about the Morgans joining every club requiring intellectual or physical skills in High School, there are vague suggestions of the remarkable minds of these two. This is especially so in one scene where the young Steven puts his hands on either side of the face of his new babysitter, as if he is taking the measure of her as a person.

The question remains, however, is what is the film's attitude toward autism, itself? Undoubtedly, this film very strongly asserts that autistic children have the right to everything neurotically children have. It also makes the argument that autistic children can display incredible abilities such as Phillip's guitar playing, Steven's prowess at cross-country, and both brothers' skills at chess, astronomy, geography, etc. etc.

But at the very end it notes the foundation Corinne Morgan founded, Miracle Run, has as its goal finding a _cure_ for autism. Obviously, the situation Corinne finds herself in at the beginning of the film, with two low functioning children, no assistance from the educational system and indifference and fear from everyone else, is not a positive one, nor one we, as a society, should allow to be perpetuated.

Yet, does this film say autistic people should be cured of the remarkable capabilities they display? Hans Asperger, the pediatrician who discovered the syndrome I have, never viewed it as a negative. In the final analysis, "Miracle Run" seems to contradict everything else it seems to be saying.

If that is the final message of this film, however, it does not make it well, and perhaps, it is more obligatory than heartfelt. The film's final message seems to be more about the triumph of the Morgan twins and the "overcoming many obstacles" Steven speaks of in the speech he gives in the film's last scene.

Speaking about other pluses of this film, its central focus is Mary Louise Parker, who plays Corinne Morgan. Not unlike the way she plays Ruth Jamison in "Fried Green Tomatoes," Parker displays an inner radiant strength, endless determination, a sense of humor, and dominance without being overbearing. The actors who play the Morgan twins as teenagers also give riveting performances, particularly Zac Efron as Steven. Efron shows great presence and manages to portray a high functioning autistic without his acting becoming mechanical. Not only does he engage our sympathy, he has us rooting for him throughout the film, something that helps the film to work so well.

The film's music is also something that caught my attention. Every so often an otherworldly chromatic theme steps in that seems to represent the Morgans' qualities of being both different and transcendent. It underlines every moment of aspiration in the film for both brothers, and at the end, with Steven's amazing first race as a cross-country runner, it is transformed into music of exultation.

This is an amazing film.

People often ask me why I became a Special Education Teacher. I became a SPED teacher to help kids that need my help more than anyone. I became a teacher because I know I make a difference. People often think that SPED means "retard" and means the kids are useless and stupid. They have not seen a child's face when they understand something they did not before. They have never felt happy with teary eyes because a child had a new world opened to them. They have never listened to a child's problems. They have never helped that child and helped them to feel loved and cared for. They have no idea the amazing feeling that I feel each and every day that I go to work. I am proud to be making a difference in the lives of children.

These boys and their mom are just so amazing. I commend them for their hard work. People with disabilities can do anything they put their minds to. This film deserves 4/4 ****/*****

I love mostly all of Lifetime movies. But this one I'd have to say was my favorite. If there are other's out there going through the same situation I'd suggest you watch this movie and get inspired. Single mother Corrine Morgan finds out that her twin sons Phillip and Steven are autistic. Instead of her giving up on them and sending them to an institution, she chose to stick by their side and insist that they be taught in regular school. She was a very good and courageous mother, she didn't just have one autistic child she had two and you could just imagine how hard that would be to raise them. Later, she finds a love interest in the repair man Doug and they hit it off well, he kinda stepped in as a father figure towards Phillip and Steve. To me these twins were not your typical autistic kids. They may have been considered retarded, but inside those kids were smart in their own special way. But for the most part these kids were smart and talented, and had a wonderful and supportive mother behind them 100 percent. It teaches you that If you believe you can achieve and if you have someone in your life who is as supportive and loving as Corrine Morgan was you can achieve anything.