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A small independent film about a relationship between a man with Asperger's Syndrome and a woman was screened tonight. I have experience with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and those with the condition can call themselves Aspies. It is on the autism spectrum but usually the individuals are much higher functioning but have some deficits the degree of which vary from individual to individual that usually have to do with social skills and may also include sensitivities to sensory information -- taste, touch, sight, smell or sound. The autistic person is one who has real trouble understanding social threads and cannot see the world through another person's eyes.
Hugh Dancy plays Adam who is a 29 year old man with AS whose father just passed away. He lives in a New York condo now alone and his routine is quickly established without too much ado showing that he eats the same things and now will have trouble fending for himself. He does have some counsel from a friend of his father's from the service who tries to give Adam some bearings but is not a caretaker by any means. Adam has a job well beneath his abilities working at a toy factory in development but is doing too much which quickly leads to his layoff.
Meantime, Beth has just moved into the complex and comes from a well to do background. She has just broken up with a rich a-hole and has come to be on her own to follow her simple dreams which means working with children and writing a child's book.
Beth comes across Adam and despite his social awkwardness, there is some mutual attraction. The movie shows this slowly and well enough though the premise that a girl like Beth would be attracted to Adam pushes the envelope. She has sophisticated friends and a rich social life whereas Adam offers nothing like that except for the inward beauty of his soul which is demonstrated with some movie stuff in that he wins her with his observations and love for simple things. The idea is that she needs the opposite of what she has had maybe to grow up or break away from her father's hold and life. Her father is a subplot in that he is a high level accountant or cfo who is indicted for some kind of fraud charge and her father's world, life and facade start to crumble around him and show Beth that he is not who she thought he was.
The movie shows some typical problems that AS people have such as pedantic speech and neverending arcane knowledge that they are readily willing to share to the ear bleeding point. The movie has some small touches that I'm not sure people will get. Shown in the previews is a scene where Beth is startled to find that Adam is trying to clean her windows as his way of showing affection. The trailer plays that scene and others for laughs and this movie really isn't a goof on this subject but more serious. Anyway, after Beth figures out it is Adam and he is in her apartment, he asks her why she screamed and she tells him that she didn't know who he was. Adam exclaims "But it was me" showing that he could not understand her point of view. Then he goes to her dirty windows and looks out and only then can he understand why she didn't recognize him. I thought that was a great touch. There are other similar touches which I do not want to spoil.
The story arc is somewhat similar to 500 Days of Summer and while there is some use of mawkish music to set mood (probably the worst thing about the movie) it does not go for the cheap ending. One key thing about AS individuals is that they can continue learning social behavior and make significant changes throughout their lives ironically when NT (neurotypicals) stay stuck in their rut.
I really recommend this movie if you have any connection or interest to AS. Otherwise, it still is a good small smart movie.
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Topic - Adam - Daryl Zero 22:13:10 08/25/09 (0)
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