Right from the get-go, I knew that Adam was going to be an enjoyable, smartly told tale of love despite humanity's predilection for preconceptions. Just the fact that the film was about a young man with Asperger Syndrome who meets a young girl across the hall of his apartment complex tells you that this won't be your run-of-the-mill rom-com. You have to believe that filmmaker Max Mayer will treat the material with compassion and intelligence; this is not a laugh-out-loud vehicle to use a serious disorder as fodder for chuckles. Any trepidation I may have had was gone after about five minutes, just the amount of time it took to introduce me to our titular character, a span that teaches us so much. A 29-year-old man who has lived with his father in NYC his entire life has just lost the one person who understood him and helped him survive. The vacant stare and inability to show emotion at the funeral is interspersed with the methodical routines of his day. We see the chore sheet for which he must cross off his late duty partner, we see the carefully hung clothing, the boxes of cereal and macaroni and cheese, and we slowly watch it all dwindle away as life alone is just too much to handle so soon. I knew then that the rest of the way would never speak down to me or turn the drama into farce.

One always worries about an actor taking on the task of a mentally disabled role. Sometimes it works, (Rain Man),and sometimes it fails miserably, (I Am Sam) … maybe Kirk Lazarus was right, "you never go full retard". But I digress, Hugh Dancy is one of the brightest actors working today, in my opinion, and he knocks this one out of the park. There are moments that linger on his face as his brain works through what has just happened, slowly coming to the realization of what it all means. The expressions are pitch perfect and his portrayal never appears as caricature. With sharp transitions to voracious anger from meek sweetness, the turbulence caught inside of him shows through in those moments that he cannot control himself. As Dancy's Adam states, in a somewhat clunky explanation of the disorder, his condition makes it difficult for him to lie. That mechanism we all possess—and love—to tell the odd white lie and appease those in our company rather than rile them up is absent from him. He speaks the truth, and in return, expects the truth back. Understanding this concept can be tough as a lie is a lie; even if the intentions were pure, the difference can't be seen.

His explosions never escalate to violence towards anyone but himself, although the scene can be scary. More a tantrum than anything else, the emotions inside him are released without control. Words are spoken in a very pragmatic and objective way, something that could be misunderstood, or not, they are his true feelings at the moment after all. **spoilers begin** Because of this, I saw the ending as profound due to the duality in Adam's response to Beth's question on why he wanted her to go with him to California. It starts out as though he will win her heart—by a truth so sweet and romantic—with the words that title this review, but then it all goes sour. His brain sees the question as one that has a correct answer, and that answer is that he needs her to survive. He needs a normal person to help him in the day to day routine, to be his sort of translator to the world. The hard part to witnessing his response is the not knowing what he means by it. Is a person with Aspergers unable to love? Is love to them safety and companionship? Or was his answer his brain's way of saying that she completes him? That she is his world? Love is such an abstract concept that whether he feels it or not, he could never truly express it in words. And that is the true tragedy of life. **spoilers end** Much like another slightly off-kilter romantic comedy this summer, (500) Days of Summer, the ending may be a happy one, just not quite the anticipated "happily ever after" Hollywood has ingrained in our heads. Adam takes all the conventions of the genre and utilizes them to fit the story, not the other way around. The film takes what it needs to be palatable to a broad audience, but never forgets the agenda at its core. For all the quirks and idiosyncrasies involved, they aren't there to be "fresh" or "cool," they are present because the lead character has them. More than a romance, Adam is about a broken man finding his way in life. A lifetime co-dependent realizing that there is a world out there he can become a part of if he has the strength to work at it and try. Beth is the catalyst for his awakening, and he hers too. She finds out that there are people out there who are innocent and sweet; that humanity isn't complete rubbish. Sometimes we meet the person for which we will spend the rest of our lives with in bliss, and other times, first, we must meet someone to remind us that the happily ever after is still possible.

A long time ago, I was a social worker and then a family therapist. Later, I taught psychology. During the course of this, I worked with a few folks with Autism spectrum disorders--including Asperger's Syndrome. Now I am NOT an expert but know enough by teaching about it, knowing folks with it (including a few of my students) and reading up on it to know whether or not a film that deals with this topic gets it right or wrong. It was because of this background I was excited to watch "Adam"--to see if I finally found a film that got it right. This is because although a lot of folks on the internet talk about this disorder (and many claim to have it--though in most cases this seems to be done to excuse boorish behavior) but few folks REALLY understand what it is. I sure wish I'd had this film available to me when I was teaching--it sure would have provided a nice example for my students.

I won't spend a lot of time discussing what Asperger's is--though it would make sense to briefly explain it. People with Asperger's are generally quite normal. However, they are socially inept--having great difficulty picking up on normal social cues, understanding polite conversation and relating to people in a healthy manner. It's as if they are socially retarded--generally unable to understand nuances, metaphors or things such as sarcasm or inferences. But, on the other hand, intellectually (aside from the social aspects) they are very normal and even sometimes brilliant. They are also incredibly literal in their thinking and speech. For someone to build a relationship with an individual like this is possible...though it certainly poses challenges.

Adam (Hugh Dancy) is a nice young man who lives alone and works with computers and loves astronomy. He happens to strike up a conversation with his neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne) and slowly they become friends. But, early on, it's obvious to Beth that there is something wrong with Adam. When he tells her he was diagnosed with Asperger's, she learns more about him--such as how to interact with him as well as his social shortcomings. And, despite this problem, she learns to love him and vice-versa. The movie then unfolds--and addresses the unspoken salient point--is loving a person enough when you're in a relationship?

The writer/director of this film is Max Mayer. It's obvious that Max either knows someone with the diagnosis or he really, really did his homework. The film very accurately portrays someone with these life challenges--and Hugh Dancy was amazing in the film--simply amazing. I also really, really appreciated how the movie did NOT simply give way to sentiment or stuff itself with clichés, film formula or false nobility. Realism and integrity of the characters is what made this film really work for me.

If you do see this exceptional film (and I strongly recommend you do),a couple things I noticed that you may also like are Dancy's amazing performance which includes no trace of his British accent (as well as Byrne's Aussie accent) as well as the cute scene with Beth reading to her young students. The way the little kids talked about "The Emperor's New Clothes"--and how some just didn't get it at all--was very realistic. Apparently, Mayer also really understands kids and child development! What a great film--and one of the few movies where I have NOTHING negative to say about it!

I loved how Dancy said in the making of for this film "He's not just a syndrome...he's a guy....". THAT is what makes this film so special.

Adam Raki (Hugh Dancy) is alone after the death of his father. He suffers from Asperger's and has difficulty relating with people. Beth Buchwald (Rose Byrne) moves into the apartment above him. They develop a friendship but its awkward as they move forward to something more. He's lost his job, and her father (Peter Gallagher) is being investigated.

This is a really sweet rom-com with mental illness. I am a little concerned about the realism of Adam's mannerism. Hugh Dancy is absolutely lovely which does make it look too nicely written. Sometimes I feel like I can see the lines written coming out of the movie. Nevertheless I do like the allusion to the naked king and the little boy. The two leads are super nice together.