TTO – In The Good Doctor, Shaun Murphy is a young doctor with a genius syndrome and an excellent visual memory. However, the decision to hire him almost caused a hospital director to lose his job for a very obvious reason: Shaun has autism.
A hospital board meeting was held with fierce debate from both sides: supporters and opponents. The supporting side had only 2 people, the hospital director and a legal expert.
The other side was very large and gave a strong argument: they did not believe that an autistic person could be accurate in medical diagnoses and steadfast under the terrible pressure of dangerous surgeries.
But then they were surprised and changed their views when Shaun himself, the despised doctor, appeared before their eyes.
With his talent in treating a terminally ill patient, he proved that he deserved to be hired.
The Genius Doctor Is Underrated
When society is paying great attention to doctors, the good news is that audiences have good movies about this profession to gain more trust and respect.
For Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore, also the film’s producer), being recruited as a first-year resident at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital is just the beginning of an arduous but emotional journey.
He and his colleagues examine, diagnose and treat. He enters important consultations for serious cases. He speaks up in the face of everyone’s skepticism, then gradually gains trust.
He is “bullied” by his boss, removed from surgeries, then that same boss recognizes his abilities and gives him bigger tasks. He has difficulty communicating with people and sometimes gets agitated at the hospital.
What’s great about The Good Doctor is that, in addition to the lovable and sympathetic protagonist, the rest of the characters – the doctors and leaders at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital – are all decent people.
Yes, they have their flaws. Chief surgeon Neil Melendez is principled and sometimes domineering. Dr. Claire Browne – Shaun’s first friend at the hospital – is emotional. Dr. Jared Kalu is quite cold.
Chief of Surgery Marcus Andrews is extremely ambitious and confrontational. And Director Aaron Glassman, who has taken Shaun under his wing since he was 14, likes to impose his views on the young man.
But they are all very decent in their own way, especially with a strong respect for medical ethics and the legality of medical treatment.
They are not perfect and sometimes make mistakes that lead to serious consequences for patients, which they regret and torment. Most have strong personalities, which makes them good doctors, but that causes them to have more or less trouble in their personal lives.
The arduous journey of people with autism
Among such a strong and unique cast of characters, the character Shaun Murphy still stands out and shines thanks to the acting of Freddie Highmore and a very thick script, understanding the inner self of an autistic person.
Highmore acted with his whole body, with a clumsy appearance, a face that shows little emotion and a flat voice whenever the character is in a normal state and really explodes whenever the character is emotional or agitated.
The film is also the process of the character Shaun learning to live and work in the world of “normal” people. There are very cute lessons, bitter lessons, lessons that make him want to collapse.
“This world is sad and complicated” – he told his friend Claire when he realized that people can both love and betray each other.
Despite his genius syndrome, Shaun is not a heroic doctor or a “savior” of his patients.
Due to his limitations, he makes many mistakes at work, including a time when he was distracted on the operating table and caused serious injuries to patients. There were times when he failed to behave with his boss, colleagues, and even his loved ones.
Footage of Shaun’s childhood is truly sad. He was abandoned by his parents, bullied by his friends, and ostracized by adults. The only person by Shaun’s side was his deceased younger brother.
With such a past, Shaun is used to being either laughed at or looked down upon. But because of his passion for medicine, he constantly tries to become a good surgeon.
As one of the most watched TV series in ABC history, The Good Doctor has also caused a lot of controversy about its representation of the autistic community. Some viewers believe that, according to the film, autistic people must be geniuses to be accepted by society.
However, if you really look deeply into the arduous and determined journey of Dr. Shaun Murphy, you will understand that the film is not that simple.
