Sherlock Holmes Movie-- definite Aspie
All right, have you seen it, yet? Because if you have you probably realized how very, very much of an Aspie he is in it.
Some things I noticed: *spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it*
1) He actually gets a sensory overload in the restaurant!
2) He has a very strong reaction to Blackwood coming up behind him-- as many of us do when someone comes up from behind.
3) Hunting flies-- I've been told building traps is an Aspie thing but I have to strong of affinity with animals to see them trapped.
4) He gets the stare when thinking-- I've been told by some people I do this, but I hope it doesn't look like it did when he was doing it.
5) Strong sense of smell and excellent hearing
6) Difficulty upkeeping personal appearance
7) Generally level headed in combative situations
8) Accute sense of observation (clearly)
9) And, of course, patchy at best interpersonal skills
Some things I felt were over-accentuated, but I suppose I only have my own personal experience to go on, and can't speak for other people's own Aspie quirks. But all and all I felt like it was a very thorough portrayal of someone with Asperger's. What does everyone else think? And did I miss anything else? Clearly they did a lot of research on this one.
I'm not entirely convinced about some of the points. Yes, Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock does strike me as being on the spectrum, given his apparent sensory overload in the restaurant, the stare and the patchy interpersonal skills. Not to mention his lack of ettiquette in some parts.
However, things such as his keen sense of smell may be attributed to him training himself to recognise all sorts of smells and be able to identify them, as well as objects and sounds.
His hunting flies and lack of upkeep is partly explained by the fact that he drinks a lot of alcohol, and if I remember correctly, does do a lot of cocane. He is able, as he has demonstrated periodically in the film, able to pass as presentable.
As for the strong reaction to Blackwood coming up behind him, well, if I remember correctly, Watson also has a strong reaction to him suddenly appearing behind them. He's just able to save his bullets since Sherlock told him not to waste them.
This isn't to say that I don't think he could be on the spectrum, but interpretations vary, given that he is a fictional character, and some of the traits are effects of Sherlock being a very good detective.
In general, though, I enjoyed the movie. I saw it twice, and if I had the money, I'd see it more. However, I know that there's other movies that I want to see as well, so I'm keeping my money for those.
Actually, finishing my review of this film soon, so hope to have it up tomorrow on my blog :)
Downey's take on the character is possible to be read in that way. As noted however, it could partly be explained by his addictions (can't remember if coke or opium are mentioned in the film, but booze certainly is present). Indeed, his performance seems a bit like Nick Charles from THE THIN MAN films, except more sober than Nick usually is.
(eyes up THIN MAN box set on shelf) Must...resist...watching...
"The Thin Man" films were a series of films from 1934-1947, following the characters of Nick and Nora Charles (played to perfection by William Powell and Myrna Loy). Nick is a former private detective who ended up marrying into wealth when he met Nora. While supposedly retired, Nora and Nick usually get dragged into some murder mystery and have a blast the whole way through solving it, Nick usually with some type of drink in hand.
The films are a blast, with sharp writting and excellent comedic performances by the leads. In fact, the testing the gun scene from SHERLOCK seems quite similar to a scene in the first THIN MAN when, on Christmas morning, Nick and Nora relax... with a drunken Nick firing a gun at the Christmas ornaments on the tree :)
For anyone who may care, my review of the film: http://experiencecinematic.blogspot.com/2010/01/sherlock-holmes-ritchie-2009.html
Thanks for the comments!
That I have. Haven't followed Sam and Max closely, but know some of their stories.
As for fidelity to the source, coming from a lit and film geek perspective, it has never been a massive issue to me, because the differences in media require alterations, and because all texts are meeting places between authors and readers. Give the same novel to fifty different people, and I can almost assure you you'll end up with fifty different takes on what the "true" version of the character is. Which isn't to say that something of the source should not survive, because what would be the point of adapting then, but that the film will be its own text rather than an after thought of the original work.
Plus, given how many adaptations of Holmes there have been, changes are bound to be made to give each their own identity. The BBC have a new Holmes series in production for this year, being run by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss that might be more up your ally. Here is the imdb link for it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/
My husband, son and I just saw it. A case could be made for AS. My son's ABA therapist thinks so. He also seems bipolar. In fact that's the first thing I see. I think I read somewhere that Robert Downey, Jr. is bipolar. That would make sense considering the difficulties he has had. Perhaps he has drawn inspiration from his own struggles?
Bipolar disorder involves a lot of sensory issues coupled with self-medicating to stop mood swings. Bipolar people are often highly intelligent and good at finding patterns (even in some cases where they don't exist). I didn't see any rages from Sherlock, though, not of the sort I'd expect to see with BP, nor with AS for that matter. But there were hints at periods of depression, lulls between cases, etc. And his pugilistic hobby seems thrill-seeking to me, a key feature of BP.
Crossover between BP and AS can be considerable, and there are a number of specialists who believe the two conditions are related somehow.
@Nimeni why don't you start a Conan Doyle (or Holmes, if you want to be more specific) thread in the book club area? I would love to learn more about the Sherlock holmes universe- I have some friends who are very into it, and I've read a number of academic papers on it, but have not been as involved in it.
I don't think that Holmes here is an Aspie- maybe Bipolar, with a drug addiction and high IQ. I mean, it's possible, but other than some of the sensory depictions movie Holmes didn't strike me as such.
I loved the costume and set design a LOT though. enough that the things I knew were inaccurate became unimportant to my enjoyment for once.
Savannah Nicole Logsdon-Breakstone Director of Advocacy 
THANK YOU! I have been resisting seeing it with my family as I generally prefer non-fiction, documentary or Indie type films. Now I have a reason!
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