By Kelsey Martyn-Farewell
The Norman Transcript
Norman — “Adam” is a drama about a man with Asperger Syndrome. At the start of the film, his father has just died and no longer has any family left to keep an eye on him. While he has a job as an electronic engineer making computer chips for toys, his real passion is astronomy. Life continues undisturbed until the day Beth moves in his building. As Beth and Adam get to know each other, the sparks begin to fly and their romance grows.
There are many funny moments along the way with Adam and Beth. Until Beth learns of Adam’s medical condition she is unaware of the reason for his social awkwardness. The truth finally comes out when Adam asks her an inappropriate sexual question, which makes her want to bolt from his apartment until he explains.
Perhaps my favorite moment in the film is when Adam dresses in his space suit, harnesses up and tries to wash Beth’s third floor windows so she can see the stars. However, she doesn’t know Adam is going to do this and she walks home with a strange man floating outside her window, which nearly scares her to death.
What is lovely about this film is the delicate balance between the quirky, endearing aspects of Adam’s personality along with his challenges to fit into a world that doesn’t understand him. Beth helps him discover new things about himself and challenges him to do things outside of his comfort zone.
Another aspect to the film is the challenge of dating someone with this condition. Since Adam cannot interpret tone of voice or facial expressions, Beth learns to be very clear with her thoughts and needs. Perhaps the most challenging thing for Beth to endure is the question of whether Adam is even capable of romantic love. Also, Beth’s father is not very supportive of their relationship, which is of great concern to her as a daddy’s girl.
British rising star Hugh Dancy (“The Jane Austen Book Club”) stars as Adam and the lovely Australian actress Rose Byrne (“Troy”) stars as Beth. Other cast members include Amy Irving (“Alias”), Peter Gallagher (“Californication”) and Frankie Faison (“Hannibal“).
Not surprisingly, “Adam” received two wins as well as two nominations for various film festival awards, including a win at Sundance with the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. Max Mayer, writer and director of the film, can be credited with much of the film’s success and notoriety. This was his first full-length feature to direct, but his second film to write.
The features on the DVD include deleted and alternate scenes, “Creating Adam Behind the Scenes,” a full length audio commentary with writer/director Max Mayer and Producer Leslie Urdang, as well as “FOX Movie Channel Presents Life After Film School with Rose Byrne.”
For a lovely film, you simply cannot go wrong with “Adam.” You can find this DVD in your local store’s new releases section.
Send your DVD questions, comments and recommendations to Kelsey at pop@normantranscript.com.
