Release Date: July 29 (limited)
Director/Writer: Max Mayer
Cinematographer: Seamus Tierney
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher
Studio/Run Time: Olympus Pictures, 99 mins.
Romance meets Psych 101 in nuanced, unconventional drama
With one out of every 150 children currently displaying behavior that falls on the Autism Spectrum, the condition has become a sensational item in both headlines and living rooms the world over. Director/writer Max Mayer takes a nuanced look at the interpersonal ramifications of the disorder in Adam, an unconventional rom-dram full of good intentions and passionate actors focused on a largely misunderstood issue. The plot follows Beth, a maternal socialite who embarks on an Asperger’s Syndrome crash course when she finds herself in a gauntlet relationship with the affected title character, played by Hugh Dancy. While the gee-shucks courtship scenes bore, Mayer illustrates an effective portrait of the mind blindness and social cliffs faced by a population that struggles to empathize with others. By story’s bittersweet end, this PSA/date flick hybrid educates as much on the human necessity of compromise as the relevance of understanding one of today’s prominent developmental disabilities.