Adam (2009) Reviews

• Profoundly sensitive and instructive movie for those with AS and without

  oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx2010-02-14

  I've needed to see this movie ever since I heard about it's existence, unfortunately it was not given a proper release in the UK, so I had to wait for the US DVD to come out. It's a film about a relationship between a man with Asperger's Syndrome (Adam) and a young woman (Beth). As I have Asperger's Syndrome and I heard that this movie was well made I was understandably interested. I have tended in the past to find movies and TV shows portraying autism absurd. Fortunately this was not the case here. The level of observation here was really very good, small things like how Adam doesn't look at people in the face, how he becomes agitated at work over comments that his boss makes that are meant to be humorous or confidence building (I am used to blank stares from my performance planner when I take things the wrong way). At one point Adam trembles behind his bedroom door when he is being asked to come out to a social event from the other side, pretending he is not there. I've done that myself. He reminds me of me when I was at university. Food fads is another, Adam has Macaroni Cheese every night of the week. Currently I have a chicken Kiev with raw mushrooms and yellow peppers pretty much every night of the week. Although he's very talented, he only managed to get the electrical engineering job he holds via his father convincing the boss to hire him. I was never able to convince anyone that I was worth hiring, even though I have a degree from Oxford. After several terrible years following university, I managed to get a job in an office where the head of the office was my brother-in-law. I can do the job well, and am even being promoted, getting in the door is the hard part. In the UK at least, employment rates for people with Asperger's Syndrome are upsettingly low. The idea of selling oneself in an interview doesn't work, and when you're up against people who will bend the truth to get ahead, it's really difficult. That's another good thing the film picked up on, honesty. If you're tired of guys lying to you ladies, pick up an Aspie. I was personally moved a lot by the beginning of the movie and the end of the movie. There's an excellent introduction using the story of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Saint-Exupéry as a metaphor. I knew at this point that it was going to be a good movie, it is perhaps the most tactful and tender approach to the subject that there could be. I won't spoil the ending of the movie, but from reading what other people have said, it's very easy to mistake what is happening, obliquely, I will recommend that you concentrate on an incident concerning boxes. I'm a few years older than Adam, and readier than he is, but love has never come my way, as there are not many Beths out there, and being 6ft 7 tall and also stocky I am not exactly of the "non-threatening male" physique typified by Hugh Dancy in this movie. My way of boring people to death with over detail is film, and even though I know that people don't want to know I will still start telling them about the history of film starting in 1888 (or if I'm feeling more loquacious, starting with Muybridge). The stupidest cosmological one I do (like Adam), is explain how novae happen in binary systems with a red giant and white dwarf. More recently I have started telling people why Sirius flickers ;) People think I am trying to make them feel stupid or inferior, which is absolutely not the case, but I still do it even though I know this, I just can't stop myself. As an autistic, I felt that this movie was extremely tender, but also very educational and instructive, I felt almost like I was a chick being feathered off a tree limb for the first flight. "Adam" does not aim at staggering mise-en-scene, it is not an Antonioni movie, but it is possibly the worthiest film you can see. The worst thing about Asperger's is that there are many people who will tell you, even straight to your face, that it doesn't exist, even a doctor I knew was pretty much of that opinion. People associate mental disability with physical impairment, and because there is none with Asperger's (except sometimes clumsiness, or "gangliness"), for a lot of people it just doesn't register, even though there are defined and recognisable developmental symptoms. This film, in a way, is an acknowledgement that it does exist, and is proof if ever I was cynical enough to believe otherwise, that films can change the world.

• Realistic, well-written portrayal of a frequently misunderstood subject

  g-zimmerman12009-08-20

  As someone who actually does suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, it is easier for me than it might be for some people to understand and relate to many of the things that Adam says and does. I have been apprehensive in the past about viewing films that deal with this sort of subject, as I have learned that many of them paint stereotypical, unrealistic, and occasionally belittling portraits of people in my place or other similar situations. I was pleasantly surprised upon viewing this, as it really hit home in many ways. I often found myself saying "this reminds me of me" when watching Adam live his life from day to day (though we are very dissimilar in that I would never have a tantrum in front of a girl). Finally, this is quite possibly the most down to earth movie of its kind, as there is nothing that happens in it that cannot or is overly unlikely to happen in real life. Unfortunately, I cannot give it a perfect rating, because as impressive as its portrayal of Asperger's syndrome is, the story itself is weak and uninspiring and not as compelling and heart-wrenching as it ought to be.

• The Prince and The Pilot

  ferguson-62009-09-08

  Greetings again from the darkness. The first feature film from writer/director Max Mayer is terrific! It is what makes indie films such a treasure ... a small, little personal story that packs a wallop. Many will remember Hugh Dancy from King Arthur and Jane Austen Book Club. In both, he was eye candy for the girls. Here he stretches his acting chops as Adam, who lives with Asperger's Syndrome. At first, he just strikes us as a guy with no real social skills. It's not until he meets his new neighbor (Rose Byrne) that we begin to understand why he's just not quite right. Watching their relationship grown in a believable way is a tribute to both actors and a very solid script. A few sub-plots are juggled: death of a parent, living alone, loss of a job, etc, but the key to the film is the relationship and how it keys in our need to connect. This is the type of film I wish more people would get a chance to see. It has so much more to offer than the over-hyped Hollywood junk that gets forced down our throats at the local megaplex. Adam won't crack the $200 million gross, but Adam will have an impact on you and create some interesting after-film discussion. Isn't that the real fun of movies anyway?

• You are a part of me … Adam

  jaredmobarak2009-08-18

  Right from the get-go, I knew that Adam was going to be an enjoyable, smartly told tale of love despite humanity's predilection for preconceptions. Just the fact that the film was about a young man with Asperger Syndrome who meets a young girl across the hall of his apartment complex tells you that this won't be your run-of-the-mill rom-com. You have to believe that filmmaker Max Mayer will treat the material with compassion and intelligence; this is not a laugh-out-loud vehicle to use a serious disorder as fodder for chuckles. Any trepidation I may have had was gone after about five minutes, just the amount of time it took to introduce me to our titular character, a span that teaches us so much. A 29-year-old man who has lived with his father in NYC his entire life has just lost the one person who understood him and helped him survive. The vacant stare and inability to show emotion at the funeral is interspersed with the methodical routines of his day. We see the chore sheet for which he must cross off his late duty partner, we see the carefully hung clothing, the boxes of cereal and macaroni and cheese, and we slowly watch it all dwindle away as life alone is just too much to handle so soon. I knew then that the rest of the way would never speak down to me or turn the drama into farce. One always worries about an actor taking on the task of a mentally disabled role. Sometimes it works, (Rain Man), and sometimes it fails miserably, (I Am Sam) … maybe Kirk Lazarus was right, "you never go full retard". But I digress, Hugh Dancy is one of the brightest actors working today, in my opinion, and he knocks this one out of the park. There are moments that linger on his face as his brain works through what has just happened, slowly coming to the realization of what it all means. The expressions are pitch perfect and his portrayal never appears as caricature. With sharp transitions to voracious anger from meek sweetness, the turbulence caught inside of him shows through in those moments that he cannot control himself. As Dancy's Adam states, in a somewhat clunky explanation of the disorder, his condition makes it difficult for him to lie. That mechanism we all possess—and love—to tell the odd white lie and appease those in our company rather than rile them up is absent from him. He speaks the truth, and in return, expects the truth back. Understanding this concept can be tough as a lie is a lie; even if the intentions were pure, the difference can't be seen. His explosions never escalate to violence towards anyone but himself, although the scene can be scary. More a tantrum than anything else, the emotions inside him are released without control. Words are spoken in a very pragmatic and objective way, something that could be misunderstood, or not, they are his true feelings at the moment after all. **spoilers begin** Because of this, I saw the ending as profound due to the duality in Adam's response to Beth's question on why he wanted her to go with him to California. It starts out as though he will win her heart—by a truth so sweet and romantic—with the words that title this review, but then it all goes sour. His brain sees the question as one that has a correct answer, and that answer is that he needs her to survive. He needs a normal person to help him in the day to day routine, to be his sort of translator to the world. The hard part to witnessing his response is the not knowing what he means by it. Is a person with Aspergers unable to love? Is love to them safety and companionship? Or was his answer his brain's way of saying that she completes him? That she is his world? Love is such an abstract concept that whether he feels it or not, he could never truly express it in words. And that is the true tragedy of life. **spoilers end** Much like another slightly off-kilter romantic comedy this summer, (500) Days of Summer, the ending may be a happy one, just not quite the anticipated "happily ever after" Hollywood has ingrained in our heads. Adam takes all the conventions of the genre and utilizes them to fit the story, not the other way around. The film takes what it needs to be palatable to a broad audience, but never forgets the agenda at its core. For all the quirks and idiosyncrasies involved, they aren't there to be "fresh" or "cool," they are present because the lead character has them. More than a romance, Adam is about a broken man finding his way in life. A lifetime co-dependent realizing that there is a world out there he can become a part of if he has the strength to work at it and try. Beth is the catalyst for his awakening, and he hers too. She finds out that there are people out there who are innocent and sweet; that humanity isn't complete rubbish. Sometimes we meet the person for which we will spend the rest of our lives with in bliss, and other times, first, we must meet someone to remind us that the happily ever after is still possible.

• "Adam" is one of the best written films of its kind

  napierslogs2010-07-05

  The adjectives used to market "Adam" include: romantic, funny, delightful, poignant, uplifting, humorous. I have to disagree with most of those, especially: funny, humorous and delightful. A comedy it is not. But that's not to say that it isn't good. It's actually quite good. "Adam" is a tumultuous romantic relationship story centered on a young man with Asberger's syndrome. The main characters are Adam (Hugh Dancy), his love interest Beth (Rose Byrne), her father (Peter Gallagher), her mother (Amy Irving) and Adam's guardian (Frankie Faison). Each of these characters have their own story line which perfectly complements the main story. All of the characters have been vividly painted with complexity, emotion, and authenticity. This is one of the most complete films in terms of quality of writing, direction, and overall superb technical film-making. Of the adjectives to describe "Adam" I would use: genuine, sentimental, and heartbreaking. It is one of the best written films of its kind, but loses stars because of mis-marketing. It's not even close to a romantic comedy, perhaps it's a romantic drama if it can even be categorized.