Ben X opens with a messy-haired adolescent killing mythical creatures with a broadsword on his computer. Within a few minutes, it’s clear this isn’t an ordinary geeky teen, but an autistic boy who speaks so little his mother has to fake his responses to her breakfast small talk.
Ben (Greg Timmermans) hardly smiles, never defends himself against his peers’ ruthless bullying and expresses himself only in the online world of ArchLord, a World of Warcraft-like computer game where he climbs to one of the highest levels.
The game visually permeates the film — a scene in which Ben is being pushed around by two bullies is interspersed with shots of his online hero fending off two trolls — and director Nic Balthazar visually distorts some shots to make Ben’s real life look like a computer game. On top of this, he amplifies incidental noise and shoots in a jerky, rapid-cut style that captures the awkward moments and uncomfortable situations that dominate the film. All this mimics and vividly portrays the attention to detail and sensory overload of the film’s fumbling protagonist.
The first two-thirds of the movie show Ben’s day-to-day life, with the occasional flashback to his childhood and interviews with his mother (Marikje Pinoy) and teacher (Johan Heldenberg). Then, the film changes as Scarlite (Laura Verlinden), Ben’s online friend and fellow ArchLord player enters his life. For the remaining 30 minutes, the plot twists at least twice as Ben and his family orchestrate an elaborate prank to teach his tormenters a lesson. For most of the ending, we’re left unsure what’s true and what is taking place in Ben’s head.
Some viewers will have trouble with this fantasy ending, which breaks from the otherwise believable naturalism of the film, but you can forgive it because Balthazar handles it so elegantly.
Balthazar, who wrote the best selling novel the film is based on, renders a sweet and sometimes painful portrait of autism without resorting to clichés. His visual and audio styles allow the audience to experience the world from Ben’s point of view, and his tight scripting and editing keeps the movie moving along at a good pace. No scene or line is wasted here.
This is particularly impressive since Ben X is Balthazar’s first feature as a director. Let’s hope it’s not his last.
