As We See It Review: The New Tv Series Created By Jason Katims Tackles Autism With Realism And Intelligence
Cast: Rick Glassman, Sue Ann Pien, Albert Rutecki
Director: Jesse Peretz, Jaffar Mahmood, David Boyd, Allison Liddi-Brown, Jenée LaMarque
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video (click to watch)
Filmyhype Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
From 21 January the tv series As We See It is available on Amazon Prime Video, of which we offer you our review. The miniseries focuses on the lives of three boys aged 25 affected by the disorder of autism in various forms, more or less disabling. The topics covered bring to mind Atypical, a similar series for the contents, but completely different as regards the technical sector. What is appreciable is the desire behind the project to create a product for a streaming platform that is as inclusive as possible.
Leading three actors Rick Glassman, Albert Rutecki and Sue Ann Pie – Jack, Harrison and Violet, respectively – identify with the autism spectrum. Behind the project is the name of Jason Katims as author, showrunner and executive producer. Katims is known as an Emmy winner and for Friday Night Lights. As We See It asks the viewer, with its tone and the realism it uses, to try to wear the shoes of all the characters, without letting go of hasty judgments but only the desire to understand a different reality for many.
As We See It: The Story
Jack, Harrison and Violet are three guys who share the same apartment and the same disorder. All three, in fact, recognize themselves in the spectrum of autism which develops in them in different forms. To help them face everyday life such as work, social relationships, love life and the desire for independence is Mandy, their peer and life coach. In fact, the three are struggling with problems that are magnified for them due to their condition. Violet and Jack have managed to find a job, but they both struggle to keep it.
While it is important for Jack to have a salary in order to cope with her father’s poor health, Violet wants to be an independent adult who does not have to submit to the excessive protections of her brother Van. But, above all, she wants to have her first experiences in the sentimental field, to fall in love and have a relationship. For Harrison, the situation is quite different. The boy has a form of autism that makes it difficult even to leave the apartment, where the noises and the dynamics of the city terrify him. But, at the same time, he feels the need to make new friends and get out of his shell.
The life of Violet, Jack and Harrison is analyzed mainly in the home context. The apartment that the three share becomes the focal point of their growth and their confrontation both between the three protagonists and thanks to Mandy’s help. Besides being, materially, the starting point for the life they desire Jack needs to become financially independent, Violet – on the contrary – wants independence which is not just seen as having her own apartment. The girl wants to live a life as a young adult like everyone else: to have the first sentimental experiences, to have her own home, to have a stable job. All things that can guarantee a normal existence and not dictated by the needs of the autism spectrum.
Her relationship with her older brother Van is undermined by this: he would like to protect her from every evil in the world, put her under a glass dome where nothing and no one can hurt her. On the contrary, she wants to have every possible experience. Harrison’s case is even more particular and, in some ways, to the limit. His condition is more intrusive than that of the other two protagonists. For him it is a victory to cross the street or to reach the bar a few steps from the condominium. Backed by a wealthy family that takes away the thought of not having enough money to be able to stay in an apartment away from his family and have Mandy as a life coach, his desire is to have friends. Someone to hang out with and just talk to.
As We See It Review and Analysis
A sweetness, that of As We See It, which soon leads the viewer to become attached to the characters. A delicacy in the writing that is found in the linearity with which he outlines the paths that he wants to take each of his protagonists within the series, leading them all by the hand, both those suffering from autism and those who gravitate around them. A sympathy that comes from the tenderness that the series establishes between roommates and the public, an empathy on which the characters must work, enriching it and extending it to the spectators. As friends invited to attend the amorous, emotional, work and family events and misadventures of As We See It, but together with the brotherhood that can be created and the support that people are able to give to each other, the series offers a touching look at autism and how to approach it. A story of love, trust and care, those placed within the story and used to make the success of the series satisfying.
The beauty of As We See It lies in putting the viewer in a condition that does not judge any of the characters involved. The series requires a certain commitment and a degree of sensitivity to be able to avoid falling into hasty prejudices and to understand every choice; both of the three protagonists and of the people who meet their path. The pilot itself – especially the opening sequence – is useful in this regard. Harrison, as mentioned above, has trouble dealing with the outside world. For him, every stimulus – from the noises of cars, to dogs barking to cyclists whizzing past him – is amplified. Leaving the apartment is like finding yourself in a war territory where anything, for many people harmless, can simply be too much for him.
To make the viewer perceive how difficult it is to live with autism, the first sequence shows Harrison’s exit from his apartment to the sidewalk in the next block. Without the use of any subjective, but only amplified city noises and sounds and close-up shots, it is easy to identify with what the boy feels and to set the tone of the entire series. What As We See It highlights are the difficulties that all the people involved have to face, day after day.And that, sometimes, there are too many to manage. Thus leading Violet, Jack, Harrison and their loved ones to strong outbursts of anger, to harsh sentences spoken in a moment of lack of mental clarity. But their thoughts and their actions are not only justifiable, but understandable thanks to a linear and sensitive staging.
As We See It Review: The Last Words
As We See It continues the diversity path undertaken by TV series and does so thanks to Amazon Prime Video. The story is that of three roommates each suffering from autism who, through the help of Mandy’s character, try to tackle the problems related to life, love, friendships and work, continually seeking their autonomy and independence. A work whose sweetness is defined thanks to a simple and effective writing, which makes the characters become attached, increasing empathy both in its protagonists and in the spectators.
