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Tim

© Jennifer A. Wickes

Tim
by Jennifer A. Wickes
copyright 2004

Tim is a movie about a mentally challenged 24-year-old man, named Tim Melville, played by Mel Gibson, who falls in love with an older woman, Mary Horton, played by Piper Laurie.

Mary Horton, a stern, orderly business woman in her 40s, meets Tim as he is one of the men doing yardwork at a neighbor's house. She hears he is of below-average intelligence and sees how his co-workers take advantage of him. So, she hires him to do some yardwork for her on the weekend.

A weekend turns into another. and their relationship continues to grow. Mary and Tim's relationship progresses from employer to employee, from mother to son, then from friend to friend. But others cannot understand what this reasonably intelligent woman would want with this below-average intelligent young man, if only to seduce him.

By all accounts, everyone is wrong about their relationship. Tim helps Mary appreciate the small things in life, as only a mentally challenged person can, and Mary helps Tim understand some of life's changes such as the marriage of his sister and the death of his mother. Through time, Mary learns that Tim has much more potential than anyone has ever given him credit. They soon fall in love.

This film was based on the novel written by Colleen McCullough, who also wrote The Thorn Birds. Although, I have never read the novel, I hear that the book is better than the movie! (But who hasn't heard that before?)

Because the movie was filmed in the 70s, the DVD quality is mediocre at best. The most annoying feature would be the sound, where everyone sounds like they are talking into a brown paper bag. The actual visual aspect is okay as well. It is not crisp or clear like some more recent movies, but you can definitely see what needs to be seen.

Mel Gibson does a good job portraying Tim. He does a good job at appearing to be child-like. But he does wear these insanely short, tight shorts, which I can only assume were in style at the time. Piper Laurie is definitely a good cast at being business-like and cold. Some people may remember her from her performance in the movie "Carrie" starring Sissy Spacek. Laurie may have pulled some characteristics from "Carrie" as she portrayed Carrie's mother.

I really enjoyed this movie. The story was so innocent, yet so interesting. The acting was good. I have definitely seen better movies, but this one was good enough. If you want to see Mel Gibson, before he became known from Hollywood Blockbuster hits, then this is one of his movies you should see.