Sundance 2024: Disney's 'Out of My Mind' reveals the world of a nonverbal sixth grader

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Out of My Mind
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Director: Amber Sealey
Writer: Daniel Stieplema, Sharon M. Draper (Novel)
Starring: Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Rosemarie Dewitt, Luke Kirby, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor, Judith Light
Category: Family Matinee
Genre: Drama
Tickets, Online Screenings: Click here

Festival Synopsis: Melody Brooks is navigating sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. With the help of some assistive technology and her devoted, exuberant allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

Review: “The Reason I Jump,” a documentary about nonverbal autistic individuals that played at the 2020 Sundance Festival, will always be with me. I carry it everywhere I go.

For those unfamiliar with the film, “The Reason I Jump” is primarily about how nonverbal people have incredible insights on life to share. We just need to give them a way to communicate those ideas. As a writer, I agonize over words and my ability to convey my thoughts. In fact, I’m going through that struggle as I write this review.

Disney’s “Out of My Mind” has a similar message. The movie is about Melody Brooks (Phoebe-Rae Taylor) a nonverbal sixth grader with cerebral palsy and a bright mind that only her father and a teacher’s aid can see.

Because Melody is nonverbal, she has been placed in a special education class where the lessons rarely rise above the kindergarten level. That’s five or so years learning the most basic skills repeatedly. It sounds like one of my least favorite reoccurring dreams. Is there anything worse than wasting the time of a hyperactive mind?

When Melody is given the opportunity to attend a “normal” class she is faced with new, unexpected challenges to prove that she’s not just a charity case. It is disheartening. It’s also realistic.

When she tries out for the school’s quiz team, she’s given a lesson in society’s unwritten rules.

“Out of My Mind” didn’t hit me nearly as hard as “The Reason I Jump” but it is accessible in ways that that the documentary is not. "Out of My Mind" is family friendly without being stripped of its educational purpose. Adults would do well to see it.

I greatly appreciate that for the film’s final scene Melody is allowed to drop the soft gloves and lands a few necessary jabs. Sometimes enough is enough.

I hope to see Phoebe-Rae Taylor in more films. She’s radiant.