Adam (2009)

Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.

Director:

Max Mayer

Writer:

Max Mayer

Stars:

Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Dancy	...	Adam Raki
Rose Byrne	...	Beth Buchwald
Peter Gallagher	...	Marty Buchwald
Amy Irving	...	Rebecca Buchwald
Frankie Faison	...	Harlan
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Sam Klieber
Haviland Morris	...	Lyra
Adam LeFevre	...	Mr. Wardlow
Mike Hodge	...	Judge
Peter O'Hara	...	Williams
John Rothman	...	Beranbaum
Terry Walters	...	Michael
Steffany Huckaby	...	Carol
Susan Porro	...	Jen
Maddie Corman	...	Robin

Storyline

Soon after moving in, Beth, a brainy, beautiful writer damaged from a past relationship encounters Adam, the handsome, but odd, fellow in the downstairs apartment whose awkwardness is perplexing. Beth and Adam's ultimate connection leads to a tricky relationship that exemplifies something universal: truly reaching another person means bravely stretching into uncomfortable territory and the resulting shake-up can be liberating.

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Plot Keywords:

asperger's syndrome | neighbor | autism | window washing | fired from a job | 

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Taglines:

A story about two strangers. One a little stranger than the other...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adam - Eine Geschichte über zwei Fremde. Einer etwas merkwürdiger als der Andere.

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$68,377, 2 August 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,277,396, 15 November 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Olympus Pictures, Deer Path Productions, Northwood Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Chief Executive Officer of Halloran, in the letter regarding Adam's interview, is named Tamar Ganish. The film's production designer is Tamar Gadish.

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Goofs

When Beth has her picture hanging up inside Adam's closet, he turns around to look at her and the clock next to Beth says 10:40. Then Adam looks at the picture again in confusion then looks at Beth again a few seconds later and the clock next to Beth then reads 10:39.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Beth Buchwald: My favorite children's book is about a little prince who came to Earth from a distant asteroid. He meets a pilot whose plane has crashed in a desert. The little prince teaches the pilot many things but mainly about love. My father always told me I was like the little prince. But after I met Adam, I realized I was the pilot all along...

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Connections

References Forrest Gump (1994)

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Soundtracks

Somebody Loved
Written by Deb Talan and Steve Tannen
Performed by The Weepies
Courtesy of The Weepies by arrangement with Nettwerk Productions

User Reviews

Good movie referencing the topic of Aspergers

Having a son-in-law that has Aspergers symptoms, I found the movie to be quite realistic in a non-Hollywood way. It didn't stoop to many of the clichés that several movies trying to tackle this subject fell into.

The lead actor did a great job portraying the attitude and personality of someone with Aspergers. His portrayal was quite well done, and accurate to real life situations He obviously did his homework when researching the character and the side effects of Aspergers syndrome.

Unfortunately, I found the lead female character (and the script components related to this character) to be less than believable. My personal opinion is that people with Aspergers syndrome tend to have a lack of empathy for other people (as portrayed in this movie), so it requires someone with extra empathy and forgiveness to be able to understand and relate to them (unless of course the partner has Aspergers themselves, which helps them understand and relate to the other person).

She didn't portray herself as an overly empathetic person, especially when dealing with her father's problems. Most children would be empathetic to their own parents first and foremost. She seemed to be forgiving of the lead characters flaws, but didn't really show a lot of emotion during the tense situations and unusual circumstances that cropped up.

Other than that, I thought it was a very good movie touching on this subject. If it weren't for the weak script and the issues with the lead female characterization, I would have given it a 10.