Adam

Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy in Adam

Studio: Fox Searchlight
Written and directed by Max Mayer; Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne and Peter Gallagher

Jul 29, 2009 By Rachel Venuti Web Exclusive

Let me say this from the outset: Just because I lost a contact lens while crying during Adam does not mean I liked it. Driving home in the dark with one eye closed made me dislike it all the more. But that isn't really fair, is it? Let's explore what worked and what didn't. Hugh Dancy stars as the title character, a young man hampered socially and career-wise by Asperger's and the recent death of his father. Enter Rose Byrne as Beth, the beautiful, serious, and sensitive young woman who moves into Adam's building. He's obsessed with astronomy, she's a budding children's book author (aren't they all?). Their artistic pursuits, shared loneliness, and plain old proximity allow an unsteady romance to develop. The beautiful New York City backdrop helps things along. The stars don't exactly align, the romance doesn't exactly blossom, but they do they best they can, even as fall ominously turns to winter.

Dancy shines in this role. He's careful not to turn into Benjamin Button/Forrest Gump, even if writer/director Max Mayer is not on his side. His nuanced performance is by far the highlight of the film. Byrne is less shiny. I had the sneaking suspicion that the actress, like every other woman in the audience, wondered why Beth would be interested in Adam. Ah, yes... Say Anything syndrome. Because Beth's suave and charismatic father Marty (Peter Gallagher) isn't exactly the man she thought him to be, she's abandoning the seemingly successful men of the world for someone simpler, someone who could use a little help. Ick.

Even with the sappy set up, this would be a sweet film. It would have been fine but for the intrusive music that explains every last emotion. It reminded me of this story I read about Rivers Cuomo. He had been hired to write a song for a film, but the director never used the song because it was too literal—Cuomo basically told the story of the film in the song. But the worst part is that years later he was still complaining about it because he thought he had done exactly what had been asked. Might he have contributed to this film?

Adam was awarded the Alfred P. Sloane Award, given to a feature film that focuses on science or technology, at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

www.foxsearchlight.com/adam

Author rating: 5/10

Rate this movie
Average reader rating: 7/10