Adam

Adam (2009)

64% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 115 reviews)

Runtime: 99 minutes

Directed by: Max Mayer

Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Frankie Faison, Mark Linn-Baker

From: Fox Searchlight Pictures

I heard about this romantic drama with dashes of comedy in it from seeing a trailer for it at a theatre earlier this summer. It’s about a guy with Asperger’s Syndrome so it’s a rather unusual topic to see on the big screen. I figured I would go and see it. Well, last weekend some people I know (but due to me feuding with them) saw this flick, said it was “The Blair Russell movie” due to their perceptions about me (even though I’ve never said anything about what they believe me to be; if they want to think that way, though, more power to them) but in any event, they stated that after watching the film they learned more about the affliction and they acted like they’ll treat people who they believe to have it differently. If it can educate people on what Asperger’s is, all the better.

The film is about an “Aspy” (Dancy) who had his father and main caretaker pass away, so the only dependent he has is his father’s friend (Faison). One day he meets up with a new lady-Beth-who moved into the same apartment complex (Byrne) and he took a fancy to her, but due to his Asperger’s, he has problems relating to people and at first he had difficulties trying to get to know Beth due to his social awkwardness and apparent lack of empathy for, well, most things. Soon, though, they get to know each other better and… in the midst of all that is Adam getting let go from the job by his boss (Linn-Baker; yes, he was the guy who lived with Cousin Balki on Perfect Strangers!) and he had to try and find a new job, and there’s also the fact that Beth’s dad (Gallagher; now, I never watched The O.C. but even I know what kind of character he played there; not to give too much away, but he didn’t act too much differently in this flick) is on trial for irregularities at his place of work.

Throughout the movie you get to see Adam and Beth getting to become more involved with each other while we see Adam get out of his shell more and we also see his affect on Beth. There are bumps in the road and I’ll leave it at that. Of course, what is portrayed in the movie should not make you think that everyone with Asperger’s acts quite as severely as the title character does, or that they all react badly to-say-lying. It was done for dramatic purposes and hopefully audiences are smart enough to realize that.

I enjoyed the performances from the leads (I don’t remember seeing Rose in any movies before, but she’s rather easy on the eyes and she looked pretty attractive in this flick) and the supporting players do a nice job too. The fact that the two leads are British and Australian and yet both do fine American accents is another thing to mention. Even if you don’t have the syndrome you might identify with him if you feel like you’re “different” or whatever.

So, I recommend you see this movie if you’re able to, as if nothing else you may learn something. It’s not that different from the usual romantic flick, I’m sure, but it’s quirky enough and I rate it pretty highly. I know it's gotten mixed reviews but I think that's a bunch of poppycock, myself.

By this time next week, expect a new review or two on here.