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Film review: Adam

Rose Byrne plays the smart, cultured Beth who falls for the awkward charms of Adam, played by British up-and-comer Hugh Dancy (recently starred in Confessions of a Shopaholic) who is lured out of his cloistered existence in this New York romance.

The plot follows a trusty boy-meets-girl format but the Asperger's slant throws up a multitude of questions in the face of conventional romance. In a world where women seem to cling to the fantasy of achieving some sort of extra-sensory romance, how does a man with little grasp of emotion have any idea how to please a woman? Men aren't known for their intuition and in Adam's case, this is magnified, creating all sorts of logistical hurdles.

There is some touching and heart-warming character development as Beth coaxes Adam out of the comfort of an antisocial existence. And as he is plunged into increasingly challenging social situations - attending a party, meeting Beth's parents - there's a real feel-good factor in seeing him overcome the social stumbling blocks of old.

There are also some tender and insightful laugh-out-loud moments. When Adam meets Beth's parents for the first time at a theatre, he misses the subtle cue for small-talk, instead launching into a fact-laden lecture on the venue's history. The viewer endures an uncomfortable minute of Beth's parents standing back in wide-eyed befuddlement as Adam reels off information in tour guide fashion, before Beth steps in to the rescue.

The OC star Peter Gallagher plays Marty, Beth's domineering father. Fiercely career driven, Marty finds himself caught in a legal dispute which threatens to compromise his professional reputation and his daughter's adoration. This makes for a poignant sub-plot as we see a beautiful juxtaposition between Beth's blossoming love with Adam, and the endangered adoration she holds for her disapproving father.

This is an ambitious and potentially winning concept for a film. Unfortunately, there's an overriding sense that Mayer might be punching above his weight. While it is easy to see why Beth would find Adam's innocence endearing and refreshing, it is difficult to relate to this sophisticated, cultured woman's sexual attraction to a man whose inability to share emotion renders him effectively childlike.

There is an absence of much-needed chemistry between Dancy and Byrne which leaves the whole performance a little soggy under the weight of such a strong storyline. While Dancy is clearly putting a lot into his portrayal of an empathically-challenged adult, it tends to come across as contrived - always a danger with this kind of role. It is for this reason that the more-discerning and fussy film-lover should give this one a miss.

This is, essentially, a classic romantic tale of a bright woman who captures a complicated man's heart and turns his world upside down. And if you love wistful, sensitive stories of personal victory and the power of love, this quirky flick is worth a look.

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