Adam – Musings 0
I went to see Adam last night. In case you aren’t aware of this movie (and it isn’t surprising, considering the limited release), it is about a man with Asperger Syndrome who falls in love with a neuro-typical (referred to as NTs).
Being somewhat on the spectrum myself – it is hard for an adult to get a diagnosis, especially an adult female – I thought I should go and check it out. I found the only local cinema showing it, and joined the enormous Orange Wednesdays queue. Despite queuing round the side of the building, there were maybe 10 other people in the room.
Many critics have condemned the film as dull, one or two (who shall remain credit-less) comparing it unfavourably to Rainman due to the protagonist’s lack of savant powers (see Autistic Impressions here for more on the savant focus in movies and its influence). Or they set the film up as: “Look at how weird these people are. Look at how abnormal they are – they must suffer sooooo much! Isn’t it no surprise they can’t have proper relationships?”
Adam is ultimately a film about love and humanity, and while Adam shows a great knowledge in the area of space and engineering, he is clearly not a savant. Just a regular Aspie. To me, that’s what makes the film so charming, even if the script feels as disconnected as its main character.
Without giving the plot away, I will say this: there are some great lines. My particular favourites being “I’m not Forrest Gump, you know!” and a very amusing discussion about the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Adam is not a robot – he feels and does so intensely, and I am glad of this portrayal. Hugh Dancy did a remarkable job of conveying Adam’s complex emotions and the misinterpretations and literal thinking that surrounds daily life for people on the autistic spectrum. When Adam faces challenging situations, he either lashes out or locks up – both of which are real and often scary parts of being an Aspie, both for the Aspie themselves and those around them.
Thankfully, the film also points out that the fear is rooted in misinterpretation: Beth thinks Adam is going to hit her; Adam says (for the second time) that he is incapable of hitting anyone. He is accused of not thinking of anyone but himself, yet so many of his actions show that is the opposite of the truth.
The relationship between Adam and Beth (Rose Byrne) is sweet, if a little short on chemistry, although I recoiled a bit at the implication that Beth’s relationship with Adam would always have been too parental: (“I need you to help me work out how to get to work… to help me figure it out when people say crazy things…” says Adam).
Adam and Beth look at the stars
For a primary teacher, Beth (who at times displays signs of Asperger’s herself) seems to know very little about AS, and the headmistress she speaks with talks about Aspies as if we are not quite human. “They can be quite brilliant,” she says, at which I nearly threw something at the screen.
The word “childlike” is thrown around a lot; in fact the event that prompts Adam to form a relationship with Beth is the death of his father, who he has lived with up to the age of 29. He doesn’t seem to be able to drive, and it was his father who found him his job (which he loses as soon as his father isn’t around to defend him). It is a rather abrupt jump from the offspring living at home situation to forcefully pushing the point that people with Asperger’s can live independent lives.
The subplot involving Beth’s father and his trial for fraud feels rather pointless and disconnected from the main story threads, so if you’re going to nip to the loo, the trial scenes are ideal.
My favourite scene? Armed with a stack of timetables, Adam wraps himself up in arctic exploration gear and leaves the city for the first time. Anyone who has known me for years can tell you about my utter confusion when faced with the public transport system!
The ending is where things go slightly awry – considering the rest of the movie is about a relationship doomed by societal expectations, it feels a bit too glossy and rushed (and there’s a rather amusing piece of badly-done green screen!). On the way home, I posited to Bloke that it would have been more interesting had it had a twist – a female Aspie love interest at the end would have been nice, as there is so much focus on males on the spectrum.
Overall, though, I’ll probably still buy the DVD when it comes out. Excellent watching-while-sick fare! It would be wonderful to see more movies of this type – and on a wider release. Come on, directors. The bar hasn’t been set too high…
3/5
P.S. This isn’t at all related to the movie, but the American pronunciation of Asperger seems completely different to the UK pronunciation. We say it: ass-purr-gers, rather than asp-ber-gers (which sounds a little too close to ass-burgers for my liking). The wonders of accents, huh?
subscribe to comments RSS
There are no comments for this post