I assumed that Max Mayer’s first feature length film, Adam, would be just a regular love story.  There are only so many ways to write a love story, and most of them have already been done.  Over and over and over again.

But there is a certain imaginative quality to this film that sets it apart, if only a little, from other films – a task all writers/directors surely strive to accomplish when writing a modern tale of love.  Here, that quality is Asperger’s.

Hugh Dancy (Confessions of a Shopaholic) stars as Adam, a sweet and innocent twenty-something guy who has a brilliant mind, is obsessed with outerspace, and eats the same mac-and-cheese dinner every night.  We soon find out that his offbeat behavior is the result of Asperger syndrome, a kind of high-functioning autism in which a person has difficulty handling common social interactions, particularly when it comes to understanding how another person feels or wants.

But when kind-hearted Beth Buchwald  (Rose Byrne) moves in to Adam’s building, his world is rapidly and drastically altered.  As Adam and Beth’s friendship progresses, we realize that Asperger’s is just a giant metaphor for any relationship (miscommunication and misinterpretation, public embarrassment, confusing mixed signals, etcetera).  Adam takes us on an extraordinary journey meant to evaluate love, and life, and all of their beautiful struggles.

The flick also features Adam’s family friend, Harlan (Frankie Faison), who provides comedic relief and serves as a surrogate father to Adam after his own dad passes away – protecting and guiding him through a complicated time for any person, let alone someone with Asperger’s.

And Peter Gallagher (or Sandy Cohen, to the OC fans) plays Beth’s father, a pompous executive-type professional who believes Beth should marry for money not love.  While his performance was believable, it pains me to see him play the “bad dad”, all the while wishing he would go for a morning surf, break out the bagel cutter, and save some Chino delinquents.

I was hesitant about Byrne as an actress, because I question the mental stability of any person willing to star in a terrible movie (Knowing) with the most horrible actor in the world (Nicholas Cage, whose name I shall not bold), but she is great as Beth – simple, smart, and grounded.  At one point, Beth explains Adam to her co-worker as “really kind of sweet”, which I believe to be the perfect description of the entire movie.

All in all, Hugh Dancy was amazing, and you will fall in love with him.  His heartwarming performance here proves that he is no longer just a pretty-faced love interest in boring chick flicks, but rather a multi-faceted talent – the star of the show – with a promising career ahead of him.

Adam made me feel the kind of emotion that a film should make you feel.  It made me laugh, it made me tear up, and it made me really consider the way each individual person has a unique interpretation of life (and for that, we must be accepting). You will leave the theatre with a smile – hopeful, and pleasantly surprised.

If you are in the mood for a love story that will really make you feel something, go see Adam. Right now.  But if you are low on cash, I assume you will survive until it comes out on DVD.  Either way, don’t miss it.