Adam

Overview

Tackling the subject of mental illness on screen is tough, especially if your chosen genre is romantic comedy. Tread too carefully and you risk trivialising the subject, lay it on too thick and you might end up with an over-drawn caricature â€" either way potentially offensive and inaccurate.

Fortunately writer/director Max Mayer negotiates this fine line with some finesse. Adam is an atypical rom-com whose leading lad (Hugh Dancy) suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, impairing his ability to empathise and understand human relations. Adam’s insular existence is dismantled when sweet-natured Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into his building, and after a few awkward exchanges their undeniable chemistry presents the pair with the challenge of navigating a relationship.

What is ultimately endearing about this film is that it refuses the fairy-floss predictability of its genre in favor of a more grounded approach. This is due in part to Dancy’s layered portrayal of Adam as a complex blend of infant, genius and troubled young man. Peddling neither high drama nor cheap laughs, Adam is an understated and simply told tale plumped by solid performances.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wnoNQa_qUm4