By Dani McDonough
Soon to hit limited theaters, “Adam” will sweep you off your feet with its raw innocence and gentle romance as long as you have the patience to understand its quirky main character.
“Adam,” written and directed by Max Mayer, follows the story of a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome who has recently lost his father, as he struggles to understand the world around him and share his feelings with the new woman in his life.
The movie opens with the father’s funeral, continuing into his home life and how he copes with the loss. As the film progresses the audience begins to realize that something is very different about Adam.
His interactions with new neighbor, Beth Buchwald (Rose Byrne), only help to reinforce these speculations. He struggles to show his affection for her and asks advice of his father’s long time friend Harlan (Franky Faison) who wisely tells him to “man up and follow through.”
Throughout the movie, the relationship between Adam and Beth is a push and pull. Beth struggles to help Adam become more “normal” so that she might introduce him to her family and Adam works to understand Beth’s emotions as their relationship progresses.
A side effect of Adam’s Asperger’s is and inability to understand what other people are thinking, something he describes as “mind-blindness.”
Toward the end of the movie Beth confides in her mother her sadness over the fact that she and Adam will never have a moment where they “look into each others’ eyes and know exactly what the other is thinking.”
Hugh Dancy’s portrayal of Adam Riki is flawless and honest, capturing the courage and naivety of his personality as influenced by his disability. The chemistry between Dancy and costar Byrne is palpable.
Dancy humbly credited good casting and even better writing in a Q&A following the film. Regardless, the comedic timing between the two actors was effortless and every line of dialogue delivered with fervor.
Beautifully written, Max Mayer’s script perfectly portrays the growth of both Adam and Beth’s characters. Mayer manages to escape the typical indie formula that Dancy described as “strange main character does strange things and everyone learns a valuable lesson from him.”
Mayer exchanged the formula for the more personal lessons each character learns as a result of having known the other. This allows the audience a chance to relate while also floating through the dreamlike state that the movie tends to imbue.
