Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990)

I first watched Edward Scissorhands some years ago, and was very impressed by its obvious metaphor for difference, although the difference I missed was Asperger's syndrome, which is of course written all over it: the isolation, the loneliness, the incomprehension of others, the hostility of those who for some reason want to entrap people of difference into a cage of normality. Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp) is the outcast who was created by an inventor (Vincent Price of horror film fame), who died of a heart attack before finishing his creation, leaving him with scissors for hands.

This is a great affliction and has caused Edward to self-harm by accident, and he's grown in the Gothic castle without human help, until (what could be more normal?) Avon representative Peg Boggs (Diane Wiest) comes calling and wants to fix his face. Introducing him to her initially sceptical family, they soon grow to love his kind ways, and he becomes a hit with most of the neighbours by his skills at topiary and cutting dogs' and humans's hair: Aspies often do have particular skills, either physical or mental, which can vary considerably.

Inevitably, though, his difference is not appreciated by everyone, and – Aspies being gullible as they tend to take everything literally – they are frequently not only the victims of jokes but are taken advantage of by others who use them to for their own purposes. Edward's love for Peg's daughter Kim (Winona Ryder) leads him into altercations with Kim's mindless boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), trouble with the cops, and eventually the death of Jim and his retreat back to the castle. But Kim, now in love with Edward but knowing a relationship is impossible, says he's dead: she narrates her story as an old woman, with a strong hunch that Edward is still alive.

The film can be seen as a powerful plea for the understanding and acceptance of those on the spectrum, and a criticism of 'normality': there is a comical episode early on when the men leave their almost identical homes, get in their identical cars and drive to work at the same time – Aspies would laughingly describe this as NT (neurotypical) behaviour, and there's a great deal of this in Edward Scissorhands.