Adam
Adam shows how a relationship unfolds when one of the partners has Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism where an understanding of subtle social cues is often lacking.
Directed by Max Mayer
(PG-13)
**
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A man with Asperger’s syndrome learns about love
Adam wants audiences to know that people with Asperger’s syndrome deserve love too, said Alonso Duralde in MSNBC.com. An “after-school special for adults,” the film stars Hugh Dancy as Adam, a brilliant Asperger’s sufferer who becomes chummy with his new neighbor, a sweetheart of a schoolteacher played by Rose Byrne. Asperger’s syndrome is a high-functioning form of autism, and those who suffer from it often lack empathy and an understanding of subtle cues such as sarcasm or innuendo. While a “thorny, intriguing” subject lies at the core of Adam, the film never reaches its full potential, said Nathan Rabin in The Onion. Director Max Mayer “romanticizes” Asperger’s syndrome instead of delving into what love might mean to someone “whose capacity to express and reciprocate affection is inherently limited by the way his mind works.” Even so, Adam is “no weepy, disease-of-the-week movie,” said Claudia Puig in USA Today. Mayer handles the difficulties of Asperger’s with “sensitivity and intelligence.” When the director focuses on the everyday realities of the relationship, his film is a “cut above most romances.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotels
The Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
-
Scientists want to regrow human limbs. Salamanders could lead the way.
Under the radar Humans may already have the genetic mechanism necessary
-
Seven wild discoveries about animals in 2025
In depth Mice have Good Samaritan tendencies and gulls work in gangs