Also Opening This Weekend: ‘Ben X’
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Ben (Greg Timmermans), an autistic teenager at the mercy of bullies in his school, is different, to say the least. His life is a universe unto itself. In the hallways and classrooms, his Asperger’s syndrome prevents him from communicating with his peers and earning the respect of his shortsighted teachers. But on the computer, he is a courageous hero known as Ben X in the fantasy online gaming world. Not surprisingly, given his social success there, this world consumes him. But when the real-world bullies’ relentless attacks push him over the edge, his online dream girl, Scarlite, appears to him and helps him devise the perfect plan to confront his tormentors and make them pay for their abuse.