Review of Thiago Dadalt’s Duke
Written by Katie Grimes
Developmentally Edited by Alexandra Hidalgo
Copy Edited and Posted by Jessica Gibbons
Duke (2018). 16 minutes. Directed by Thiago Dadalt. Written by Dru Miller and Thiago Dadalt. Featuring: Robert Solomon, Piercey Dalton.
“What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
This quote from The Little Prince is how Duke begins, a short film about a nonverbal, autistic teen that reveals we should never assume to know what is happening inside someone’s mind. It’s a thoughtful, artful film that offers a new perspective on the everyday experiences of people with nonverbal autism and some of the challenges they and their families encounter.
The latest analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 59 American children has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Duke is one in a wave of films that recognizes the importance of spotlighting this all-too-common condition, a wave that has been a long time coming.
Since the Oscar-winning film Rain Man reached critical acclaim in 1988, the number of autistic characters on screen has grown dramatically, from savant protagonists in Sherlock and The Good Doctor to young men like Oskar Schell in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Max Braverman in NBC’s Parenthood, and, most recently, Sam Gardner in Netflix’s Atypical. While the accuracy of these movies and shows varies, what most of them share are characters who display high-functioning, Asperger’s-like behavior. That’s where Duke sets itself apart.
As its name suggests, Autism Spectrum Disorder is a spectrum. Duke’s focus on a nonverbal young man offers a needed look at the challenges that come with a different spot on the spectrum from ultra-observant investigators and budding geniuses. In this film, we see those struggles from the perspective of Duke’s various family members and Duke himself. Duke is based on a real family, whom Dadalt spent over a year observing to order to bring this story to life, and his attention to detail pays off. It was the moments that allowed me to experience the world through Duke’s eyes that I enjoyed the most. Duke’s opening scene transports us to a beach, where we witness—and are invited to take part in—Duke’s sensory experiences: the sound of the waves, the scent of the surf, and the feel of the sand and water under his feet. These things make sense to Duke, unlike the tumultuous world of arguments and demands. Dadalt’s clever use of close-up shots and a peaceful, haunting soundtrack give his audience an immersive experience, allowing us a glimpse at how Duke interprets the world.
Duke is as much about Duke as it is about his mother. Duke’s mother is his translator, his advocate, his greatest ally. “I know what Duke needs,” she tells the principal at Duke’s school. We soon learn that this statement is undeniably true when we see her devotion to Duke and his quality of life, sometimes at the expense of her relationships with her husband and other children and the family’s financial security. Duke shows us the stress that ASD can inflict on not just an individual, but an entire family, especially mothers, who are often expected to be their child’s primary caregiver. When Duke’s father expresses his inability to continue meeting Duke’s needs above his other children’s—“I’m done, I can’t do this anymore”—his mother does not waver. “He is your son! I don’t know who you are anymore,” she says.
Disappointingly, what Duke doesn’t offer is a relief from the enduring whiteness and maleness of autism on screen. This is less a critique of the film itself, which was based on a true story, and more a reflection of the industry as a whole, which tends to focus on white, male stories to the exclusion of others. Seeing yet another film about a young white man with ASD hardly offers us an understanding of the diverse group of people who live with this condition. I would leap at the opportunity to watch a film that centers an autistic character who is also a woman and/or a person of color, showing the unique challenges those converging identities present. And I think many others would as well.
What Duke does offer us is a beautiful story about the complex world of one person with autism and the family who loves him. When you watch Duke, you don’t just observe, you are transported through sight, sound, and emotion. Duke invites you not just to understand, but to experience the joys and heartaches, to know, just a little, what it is to live with nonverbal autism. It’s a tall order for a 16-minute film, and it does not disappoint.
Find more information about Duke on the film’s website. You can learn more about Katie by visiting her profile.