AllMovie

Best and Most Beautiful Things is a 2016 documentary film directed by Garrett Zevgetis and produced by Zevgetis, Ariana Garfinkel, Jeff Consiglio, and Jordan Salvatoriello. Its world premiere was held at the South by Southwest film festival on March 14, 2016, where it was nominated for a Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film explores the coming of age of an exuberant and precocious young blind woman, Michelle Smith, who identifies as being on the autism spectrum. As she tries various ways of finding her true self in a new world of adults, she struggles with family tensions and trying to keep a job. On a more personal level, she begins developing a sense of sexual identity through exploring aspects of fetishism. In a December 1, 2016 review in The New York Times, Neil Genzlinger called the film "a remarkably forthright documentary" in which Ms. Smith makes "a difficult transition for someone with disabilities - the end of the schooling years, with their structure and relative safety." The same review named the film a New York Times "Critics' Pick."