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Best and Most Beautiful Things

Best and Most Beautiful Things

2016

Director

Garrett Zevgetis

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Off a dirt road in rural Maine, a precocious 20-year-old woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother Julie. Michelle is quirky and charming, legally blind and diagnosed on the autism spectrum, with big dreams and varied passions. Searching for connection, Michelle explores love and empowerment outside the limits of “normal” through a provocative fringe community. Will she take the leap to experience the wide world for herself? Michelle’s joyful story of self-discovery celebrates outcasts everywhere.

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

6.3/10

Good


Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Fair

The film explores connection within provocative fringe communities. While it lacks a traditional romantic arc, it validates social circles that exist outside conventional heteronormative boundaries.

Gender Representation

Good

Michelle Smith is portrayed with significant intellectual and emotional agency. The mother-daughter dynamic avoids traditional patriarchal hierarchies, focusing instead on a complex partnership of autonomy.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Limited

The narrative appears focused on a localized, predominantly white demographic in rural Maine. It does not utilize diverse ethnic casting as a primary driver of the story.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Good

The film critiques mainstream social conformity by celebrating those on the periphery of normalcy. It values individual truth and subjective experience over standardized Western institutional norms.

Disability Representation

Excellent

This is a standout portrayal of neurodivergence and sensory impairment. Michelle’s autism and blindness are treated as integral identity facets rather than obstacles or sources of pity.

Strengths

  • Exceptional, high-agency portrayal of a neurodivergent and visually impaired protagonist.
  • Subverts traditional gender hierarchies by centering female intellectual and emotional autonomy.
  • Challenges mainstream social conformity by validating fringe and non-traditional communities.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks broad racial and ethnic diversity within the narrative.
  • Does not feature a central LGBTQ+ romantic arc or explicit representation.

AI Analysis

Best and Most Beautiful Things is a character-driven documentary that succeeds by centering the agency of a neurodivergent protagonist. It avoids the pitfalls of 'inspiration porn,' instead presenting Michelle Smith's unique perspective as the core of the narrative. The film excels in its sophisticated handling of disability and its subversion of traditional gender hierarchies. By focusing on a woman driven by her own passions, it moves away from domestic tropes. However, the film is limited by its narrow geographic and ethnic scope. The focus on a specific rural Maine setting results in a lack of racial and ethnic diversity, making the social exploration feel somewhat localized.

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