After Thomas (2006)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

good back-story, and good acting

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

With Goodnight Mister Tom and Appropriate Adult, this was another one of those television made dramas that really gripped me, and it managed to convince me that it was like a real film. Basically six year old Kyle Graham (introducing Andrew Byrne) is a boy who suffers a severe form of Autism, one that took two years to diagnose, and it causes him to be terrified of many things in everyday life, he has no close friends, but more than anything he cannot communicate properly. The many traumas and tantrums of Kyle have caused his parents, Nicola (Keeley Hawes) and Rob (Ben Miles) a lot of stress as he needs constant care, and they cannot get through to him, as he escapes into his own world of obsessions, such as trains and watching Thomas the Tank Engine. Trying to break through to him has caused friction in the marriage as well, Rob suggests placing Kyle in a special boarding school for autistic children, but Nicola loves him to much and wants him to grow up as part of society and try to learn the skills he needs at home. The social workers try to help as best as they can, and Nicola does get good moral support from her mother, 'Granny' Pat (Sheila Hancock) and father 'Grandpa' Jim (Duncan Preston), but they need a way to bring Kyle out of his shell. Nicola decides to try and see if Kyle can find connection with a new pet dog, so she brings a golden retriever puppy home and he does give him a name, Thomas, after the train and his favourite character. As time goes by Nicola and Rob see their son developing some communication through his affection for Thomas the dog, and they are smiling as he does show signs of improving. There is also a point when Rob has the idea to speak their feelings, through the dog, and they use this to stop Kyle from misbehaving and having tantrums. Nicola does find at one point that Thomas, now fully grown, may be becoming more prominent in Kyle's world, and he does kick the dog at one point in a moment of anger, and then there is the tragedy of Pat dying. After initially looking like Thomas may be lost after the kicking when he may have to be put down, he recovers, and Nicola and Rob are so happy when Kyle, speaking through the dog, tells them that he loves his mummy. Also starring Asa Butterfield as Andrew, Clive Mantle as John Havers, Lorraine Pilkington as Rachel and Noma Dumezweni as Paula Murray. Keeley gives a very emotional performance as the mother trying to cope with her disabled child, Miles is also great as the sympathetic and affectionate father, and of course young Byrne gives an extraordinary performance as the boy who makes small break through in his social interaction, and the dog is adorable as well. Being based on a true story, the events are very realistic and well played out, I can empathise and relate to the situation, I suffer a form of Autism myself and I know how difficult it can be sometimes, this is a brilliant drama. Very good!

I remembered seeing After Thomas on the Christmas of 2006 and absolutely adoring it. Finding the tape that we recorded it on while clearing up I sat down to watch it, hoping that my positive memories of it had not changed. Thank goodness those memories were no fluke. After Thomas was amazing. I specifically remember thinking that it was one of the better dramas on that Christmas, and I still think that.After Thomas looks stunning. You can never go wrong with skillful photography, picturesque scenery and evocative attention to detail, and After Thomas had exactly that. The music was also beautifully composed, never too obtrusive or too little but just right and just the right tone for the drama's mood.The writing is thoughtful and poignant with Kyle's Kyle loves Mummy really standing out as a line that truly resonates with you emotionally. I also have to credit the story, it is a well paced and beautifully constructed one that anyone can identify with. It is also very affecting, this is not the sentimentality that feels too much or feels preachy, this sentimentality is genuine and written and incorporated so well and carefully that you care for the story and the characters and their predicaments.Underneath all this though, you do feel a glimmer of hope, the subject matter for After Thomas is a brave one and being autistic myself is one I can personally engage with, and seeing how Kyle behaves it made me think and gave me hope. The acting is wonderful throughout, the dog is adorable and very convincing, and as great as Keeley Hawes, Ben Miles and Shiela Hancock are it was the remarkable performance of Andrew Byrne that moved me most.Overall, truly amazing and anyone who hasn't seen it yet and plans to, I advise you to have some tissues at the ready, I myself needed more than a few at the end. 10/10 Bethany Cox

One of those wonderful lucky accidents - I Tivo'd this program based purely on the fact that Keeley Hawes was in it and she's one of my favorite actresses so whatever it was it would be good because of her. Little did I expect to be blown away by the performances of everyone in the cast, most especially Kyle and Thomas himself! Ben Miles was a pleasant surprise. Having only ever seen him in Coupling, here he showed he's capable of so much more. This is one of the sweetest and most touching dramas I've seen in a long time and to find out it was a true story just made it all the more incredible. By the end I was in tears. You don't need to have a child with autism to grasp the intensity and heartfelt emotion of the parents and indeed the grandparents as they tried to deal with the issues surrounding a child with special needs.

as a mother to two autistic boy, this drama brought back reminders of what we have been through and moved me to tears, when kyle said kyle loves mummy, i remembered the time my son came up to me and said he loved me, it made me cry.the laying down in the road is exactly what my son does too, so much of this was our everyday life such a true to life account of life with autism. i think everyone should watch this as it will bring a better understanding and then families like ours will no longer have the prejudices that we face in everyday life. this drama show's there is hope out there for families that feel they are alone and unsure that this is normal behaviour for a autistic kids.