When aspiring filmmaker David is mandated by a judge to attend a social program at the Jewish Community Center, he is sure of one thing: he doesn't belong there. But when he's assigned to visit the Brooklyn Bridge with the vivacious Sarah, sparks fly and his convictions are tested. Their budding relationship must weather Sarah's romantic past, David's judgmental mother, and their own pre-conceptions of what love is supposed to look like.
Keep the Change may be a breakthrough in its focus on real people with intellectual disabilities, but it's especially commendable for providing positive examples of how the nondisabled can create inclusive environments for all.
Romantic complications roll between this pair of self-described "weirdos"...with setbacks and misunderstandings, frank outbursts and blunt remarks, but there's a sweetness, even tenderness even at outré moments. Together, they comprise a new "normal."
Keep the Change is brilliantly written, acted and directed, a triumph in so many ways. It is so suspenseful and entertaining that I sincerely believe I would have loved it even if I had no personal connection to autism.
This gently humorous, fiercely honest indie film is a step forward in the quest for a move inclusive Hollywood, which seems to one of the themes of the cultural moment.
Here are legitimate characters -- who are in ways richer than the sort we often see in such fare -- with hopes and flaws, and they simply happen to be on the autism spectrum.
[Director Rachel Israel] nicely avoids rom-com contrivances - even the fish-out-of-water dynamics have a natural quality - and the actors give credible performances.
What distinguishes it are Israel's empathetic characterizations - she's known Polansky for 15 years - and the winning performances, not only by the leads but also by the supporting players.
[It] accomplishes a much more difficult task: When the movie starts, its main characters seem outside the norm, unusual, "wierdos," in the description of David himself. By its end, you see nothing at all of that; they're just people.
Keep the Change exposes its audience to people with autism, in a day to day way that most films have not. I applaud the cast and crew for what they've done. The multitude of characters represented had vibrancy, life and depth.
