ADAM 3.0*** ( nearly 3.5***)



This is a charmingly challenging “romantic” drama. Yes, it’s a “boy meets girl’ and they both are attracted to each other, and what seems like a “romance” develops although, as it turns out, it can, at best, only be, a “relationship” because the “boy’ , Adam, though 29 years old, not only lacks social skills, he is incapable of experiencing or showing real feelings…of caring for or truly loving anyone. You ask why ?? Well, Adam (Hugh Dancy) has Asperger’s, a mild form of autism. Although Adam is terrifically intelligent he often seems dense because he can’t process information like the rest of us. He cannot read people’s faces or emotions. Allegory, metaphor, irony, sarcasm and most forms of humor are beyond his comprehension, as are feelings. Adam can function in an obsessive compulsive way and has a job making the electronic components for toys.

The “girl’, Beth ( Rose Byrne), who moves into his apartment and gets to know him learns fairly early on that he has Asperger’s… he tells her…and then she reads up on it. Despite this knowledge she begins to have feelings for him that he can’t have for her. It is amazing and a credit to Beth that she is willing to be with a guy who is never going to fit in, who will never be able to “read” her and who will eternally be ill at ease with emotions. He finds a comfort with her and comes to “need” her, and the need grows as the relationship deepens. But, will the relationship last, can it last… can they make a serious go of it ???? This dilemma…this paradox makes for a fascinating story that is presented with honesty and without the usual “Hollywood” trappings or manipulations.

The performances are superb, especially that of Dancy ,as Adam, who is dead-on near perfect with how he capture the heart-breaking reality of someone who has Asperger’s . He also imbues his character with an unshakeable dignity and moral resolve. But Byrne, as Beth, is also wonderful as the wanna-be-girlfriend, one who wants to experience all the love and emotion that should come with it…yet she knows that it can never really happen.

This movie will educate you, will pull on your heart strings and will ultimately inspire hope and understanding. Such is a rare experience and, as is often the case, usually only found with courageous Independent films which this is. BRAVO for the Indies !!!!!

Clark