A long time ago, I was a social worker and then a family therapist. Later, I taught psychology. During the course of this, I worked with a few folks with Autism spectrum disorders--including Asperger's Syndrome. Now I am NOT an expert but know enough by teaching about it, knowing folks with it (including a few of my students) and reading up on it to know whether or not a film that deals with this topic gets it right or wrong. It was because of this background I was excited to watch "Adam"--to see if I finally found a film that got it right. This is because although a lot of folks on the internet talk about this disorder (and many claim to have it--though in most cases this seems to be done to excuse boorish behavior) but few folks REALLY understand what it is. I sure wish I'd had this film available to me when I was teaching--it sure would have provided a nice example for my students.I won't spend a lot of time discussing what Asperger's is--though it would make sense to briefly explain it. People with Asperger's are generally quite normal. However, they are socially inept--having great difficulty picking up on normal social cues, understanding polite conversation and relating to people in a healthy manner. It's as if they are socially retarded--generally unable to understand nuances, metaphors or things such as sarcasm or inferences. But, on the other hand, intellectually (aside from the social aspects) they are very normal and even sometimes brilliant. They are also incredibly literal in their thinking and speech. For someone to build a relationship with an individual like this is possible...though it certainly poses challenges.Adam (Hugh Dancy) is a nice young man who lives alone and works with computers and loves astronomy. He happens to strike up a conversation with his neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne) and slowly they become friends. But, early on, it's obvious to Beth that there is something wrong with Adam. When he tells her he was diagnosed with Asperger's, she learns more about him--such as how to interact with him as well as his social shortcomings. And, despite this problem, she learns to love him and vice-versa. The movie then unfolds--and addresses the unspoken salient point--is loving a person enough when you're in a relationship? The writer/director of this film is Max Mayer. It's obvious that Max either knows someone with the diagnosis or he really, really did his homework. The film very accurately portrays someone with these life challenges--and Hugh Dancy was amazing in the film--simply amazing. I also really, really appreciated how the movie did NOT simply give way to sentiment or stuff itself with clichés, film formula or false nobility. Realism and integrity of the characters is what made this film really work for me.If you do see this exceptional film (and I strongly recommend you do), a couple things I noticed that you may also like are Dancy's amazing performance which includes no trace of his British accent (as well as Byrne's Aussie accent) as well as the cute scene with Beth reading to her young students. The way the little kids talked about "The Emperor's New Clothes"--and how some just didn't get it at all--was very realistic. Apparently, Mayer also really understands kids and child development! What a great film--and one of the few movies where I have NOTHING negative to say about it!I loved how Dancy said in the making of for this film "He's not just a syndrome...he's a guy....". THAT is what makes this film so special.

Adam is a movie that has some good points. The acting is pretty good, especially Hugh Dancy's that made a good job at portraying Adam trough a whole range of emotions. The direction is also pretty good, simple yet effective, with no editing mistakes.But the real flaw of this film is its scenario. It lacks substance and density, a strong captivating plot. Ultimately the movie feels kind of superficial, under-developed and a bit too conventional, still it manages to unfold smoothly.The ending was a non happy one which is always interesting, but it left me a bit unsatisfied though I wouldn't be able to explain why.An average movie overall.

Adam is part of an unfortunate trend I'm starting to notice from Hollywood - the trend of the unhappy ending. It is one of those failed romance movies. A movie about a "romance" that ultimately leaves us all alone. It tries miserably to buy us off at the end with the ex-girlfriend sending the ex-boyfriend a book for a present, which he sits and reads all alone on a park bench, with all indications being that he will live and dies all alone, too, because some bad writing in a couple of crucial scenes all but destroyed what will probably be the single chance at companionship this "unattractively" quirky guy gets in his entire life.The movie makes a passing remark about how many people with asperger's DO get married and have their happily ever after. Why in god's name didn't they make a movie about one of THOSE couples? I normally try to avoid rubbish like this, but due to some misleading advertising, I was under the impression it gave asperger's a chance to show off it's interesting characteristic and to receive a little love from the universe. I was under the impression that for once, a shy guy without that George Clooney-esque cockiness would get the girl of his dreams. I wound up watching it, and without researching it on Wikipedia first. Both these things were huge mistakes. The movie sets you up only to knock you down. It warms your heart only so you don't see the sucker punch waiting for it.I'd like to make a plea not just to the makers of this movie, but to all of Hollywood. We don't need you to make us miserable, break our hearts and tear down our hopes. That's what real life is for. We come to you for happiness and comfort. We come to you to inspire us, to help us believe that good things can come true - that we can overcome our obstacles and find what it is we're looking for and have it to keep for the rest of our lives.We don't need you to tell us that the universe severely punishes the weird, for being weird. We don't need you to tell us that the losers are gonna lose. Most of us know all that. And most of us want to be able to believe in a better world. Please, give us that much. You get our $15 for the tickets either way.

Spoiler Alert. The movie is well written until the last 1/4. It becomes predictable and unoriginal, it neglects to take the movie as far as it should go almost as a means of protecting the hearts of the audience. For the movie to receive a rating higher than a 6 and be deemed a classic, Adam has to die. If he did the movie would be on par with other screenplay masterpieces, but because he doesn't it becomes nothing more than just another decent movie. Don't get me wrong the movie was enjoyable, but the ending just left me slightly upset that Mayer wasn't capable of fully weaving greatness into the conclusion. I recommend the movie, but just don't get your hopes up to be amazed by the ending, because it will let you down.