Jake Crosby Reviews Fox Searchlight's Adam Movie with Asperger's

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Jake Crosby Reviews Fox Searchlight's " Adam " Movie with Asperger's

By Jake Crosby

“Adam,†A Review

The movie “Adam†was billed as a romantic comedy, but to a person with

Asperger Syndrome, it might be more of a suspense drama.  Part of the reason

for this could just be that I am not used to watching a character with my

condition on the big screen since the movie is perhaps the first where the main

character had Asperger Syndrome. “Adam,†though an independent film, can

well be described as breaking ground that Hollywood has not yet breached.

In contrast to distortions espoused by Hollywood and Denis Leary characterizing

autistics as savants, “Adam†was a strikingly accurate portrayal of an

Asperger Syndrome sufferer, which was perhaps why the movie was well received.

I’m no expert on acting, but if Hugh Dancy really never heard of Asperger

Syndrome before getting the lead role as Adam, as he said in a recent interview

with Autism Speaks, then he is a very good actor.

Perhaps the real question is not how accurately Asperger Syndrome was portrayed,

but whether or not a movie that accurately portrays a guy in his twenties with

Asperger Syndrome has a potential target audience in guys in their twenties with

Asperger Syndrome. That was not the kind of crowd I saw shuffling into the

theater to watch the movie, and I was the odd man out, though I guess it is

possible there may have been others like me who I did not take into

consideration. The audience was predominantly middle-aged couples..

“Parents,†I thought, most likely of children with Asperger Syndrome or even

Autism Spectrum Disorders in general who wanted to learn more about their

kids’ conditions. There were some people my age in attendance. I suppose any

of them could have had Aspergers, though I tend to doubt it.

People with Asperger Syndrome may have difficulty watching a film where the main

character has the same condition. Many aspects of the movie made me feel

uncomfortable. For example, the lonely, non-social aspects of Adam’s living

situation would probably draw a striking parallel to my dorm situation had a

friend not been living across the hall from me. Other issues of Asperger

Syndrome, such as anxiety, meltdowns, employment problems, and issues with

self-reliance were also highlighted in the movie. As someone who has suffered

from all of these problems, I was very appreciative of finally seeing my

disorder represented on the big screen. However, because I dealt with the same

condition as the character in the movie, the negative scenes stood out much more

than the romance or comedy scenes.

The humorous scenes of the movie included the more subtle problems of Asperger

Syndrome, usually involving Adam’s awkward behavior around the other main

character, Beth, and her friends. This included monologues about outer space,

Adam’s repetitive interest, and other aspects like empathy problems, saying

whatever’s on your mind and not getting sarcasm. Taking all this into account,

Beth, having just left a previous relationship with an unfaithful boyfriend,

puts up with quite a lot.

But how representative is this of women in general when dealing with a person on

the autism spectrum? For most of the movie aside from the very end, the issue of

people with Asperger Syndrome having relationships does not really get

addressed. There is not as much conflict as one would normally expect and

instead, Beth just tolerated Adam’s odd behavior and spoke of his better

qualities such as, “He’s really sweet,†rather than getting turned off by

his ASD like I feel most women would. At one point, Beth did say, “Oh, so

he’s not good relationship material,†after talking about Asperger Syndrome

with a co-worker at the school where she teaches, but it seems that statement is

quite the exception.

This is not to say that I don’t think a person with Asperger Syndrome is

capable of a relationship, but I think for the most part, the movie did not

highlight the challenges of beginning and maintaining a relationship as

realistically as it did the other aspects of having an ASD. This is why the

cheerful, funny romance scenes did not stand out as much for me as the more

serious ones. Often, what one remembers is what is familiar to him. I’ve never

had a relationship that was equivalent to the one featured in the movie, and

since having one seems unrealistic, I would have imagined more friction between

Adam and Beth throughout the film. Then maybe the romance scenes might have

stuck with me more, but it seemed the makers of this film believed there were

enough negative scenes that adding in any more might change the genre of the

movie.

It was, however, nice to watch a man with Asperger Sydrome having an intimate

relationship, however unrealistically it may translate over to real life.. The

humorous scenes were also effective at providing some comic relief. However, I

found myself walking out of the theater feeling more rattled than amused or like

my heart had been touched. If watching this romantic comedy felt more like

watching a suspenseful drama to me, then I can only imagine what watching a real

suspenseful drama featuring a main character with Asperger Syndrome would be

like.

Still, I was glad to see my condition finally gaining some feature film

reputability, and I think those with Asperger Syndrome should watch this movie,

if they can stomach the discomfort of watching their ailment represented on the

big screen in a large room full of people. As important as it is for other

people to be made aware of our condition, I feel it is equally important for us

to become aware of the public perception of our condition.

Jake Crosby is a history student with Asperger Syndrome at Brandeis University,

and a Contributing Editor to Age of Autism.

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

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" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport