Please Stand By

It’s a long haul, but Please Stand By, meticulously directed by Ben Lewin (The Sessions), chronicles the pitfalls, terrors and triumphs of the trip with heart-wrenching realism.

[Fanning] plays Wendy as a person and not a condition.

Please Stand By is thoughtful in how it dramatizes the consequences of autism. The movie is a little stiff, though.

The film itself is often flat, akin to a very well-directed after-school special crafted exclusively to dramatize what it might be like to either live on the high-functioning end of the spectrum or care for someone who’s there.

It’s hard to be persuasive, though, when your protagonist comes across as a collection of quirky tics rather than a credible human being.

Please Stand By has its surface charms...but if you look under the hood, the film just doesn't work.

A picture whose picaresque premise holds more promise that its star or director deliver.

Actress did a really good job portraying someone on the spectrum, was an interesting movie premise of her wanting to show her script so bad she broke the rules but showcased she can do anything anyone else can do, I can certainly see this not being everyone's cup of tea for a movie, it's not flashy with action scenes, it's not a comedy trying to be funny, it's just about a girl on the spectrum who is overcoming something. Not sad, not funny, just a movie about life.

Please Stand By is a beautiful film. Of course it's not exactly faithful to the sickness, because it would be hard to write a story around it. But you get a good view of some symptoms and difficulties of autism. The acting is quite good and certainly convincing enough. The Star Trek side is a bridge for something else, like for many Star Trek fans. And in that sens the film is very respectful toward Trek, autism and those who lives with them. I had a nice time watching the movie and I give it a 72%.

Please Stand By (2017) is a heartwarming yet flawed movie that follows Wendy, a young autistic woman with a passion for Star Trek. The plot is engaging and makes you root for her, but some scenes feel forced or out of place. The directing leans too much into making other characters seem unreasonably harsh, which might have been intentional to reflect Wendy’s perspective, but it ends up feeling unrealistic. The cinematography is solid but nothing outstanding, mostly keeping things simple and functional. The attention to detail in Wendy’s routines and the world around her is noticeable, but the way her journey unfolds sometimes lacks natural flow. Dakota Fanning delivers a committed performance, but it feels stiff, likely due to how the character was directed rather than her acting ability. Wendy comes across as overly robotic at times, missing the emotional depth that could have elevated the movie. The supporting cast does a decent job, though most characters feel underdeveloped. The script has good moments but could have done more to make interactions feel organic. The score is a highlight, adding warmth and emotion where the film itself sometimes falls short. Overall, Please Stand By is a decent watch with a strong central performance, but the execution keeps it from reaching its full potential.

There's certainly commitment from Dakota Fanning but the story by itself barely makes up for the time invested. I wanted more and the film failed to deliver.