The best movies about autism
The top 3 according to 411 votes from people: Temple Grandin (2010) · Mary and Max (2009) · Rain Man (1988). (Updated Jul 17, 2024.)
From Rain Man and Temple Grandin to Mary and Max, Life, Animated and A Brilliant Young Mind: films about autism recommended by Autism Parenting Magazine and Autism360.
Top 14
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1
Temple Grandin (2010)
Mick Jackson. Claire Danes as the animal scientist and autism advocate.
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2
Mary and Max (2009)
Adam Elliot. Stop-motion: a lonely Australian girl and an autistic New Yorker become pen pals.
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3
Rain Man (1988)
Barry Levinson. Tom Cruise and his autistic brother, Dustin Hoffman. Best Picture Oscar.
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4
A Brilliant Young Mind (2014)
Morgan Matthews. An autistic teenager at the International Mathematical Olympiad.
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5
My Name Is Khan (2010)
Karan Johar. Shah Rukh Khan as a man with Asperger's who sets out to meet the US president.
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6
Jack of the Red Hearts (2015)
Janet Grillo. A teenage runaway hired to care for an autistic girl.
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7
Please Stand By (2017)
Ben Lewin. Dakota Fanning runs away to deliver her Star Trek script.
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8
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
Stephen Daldry. A boy searches New York for a lock after his father died on 9/11.
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9
Life, Animated (2016)
Roger Ross Williams. Documentary: Owen Suskind learned to communicate through Disney films.
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10
Fly Away (2011)
Janet Grillo. A single mother and her severely autistic teenage daughter.
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11
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Lasse Hallström. Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio as his younger brother.
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12
Miracle Run (2004)
Gregg Champion. A mother raising autistic twin boys.
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13
Keep the Change (2017)
Rachel Israel. A romantic comedy with autistic actors in the lead roles.
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14
The Story of Luke (2012)
Alonso Mayo. An autistic young man looks for a job and love.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (6)
As an autistic adult I'd put Mary and Max at the top. It's the one that feels the most honest.
x+y is so underrated, Asa Butterfield is great
Love that Keep the Change is here, actual autistic actors playing autistic characters. More of that please.
Rain Man aged badly in some ways but it's still the movie that made most people even know the word autism.
Temple Grandin should be #1 honestly, Claire Danes is incredible in it.
Life, Animated made me cry like a baby. The Disney sidekicks scene is beautiful.