Temple Grandin is an amazingly assembled, superbly acted, strikingly sweet film about Grandin's life -- and the cows' death.

HBO's fine biopic serves as an important reminder that people with autism spectrum disorders are individuals rather than collections of tics.

What's striking about Temple Grandin is the absence of sentimentality; no syrupy music, no saccharine climax - just a rich glimpse inside a rare mind.

Claire Danes plays the gawky Temple with a wide-eyed intensity and is backed by a stellar cast including Julia Ormond as her proud, uncompromising mother, Catherine O'Hara as her kindly aunt, and David Strathairn as an inspirational teacher.