Playing a character who is mentally disabled can be a fast track to Oscar or to oblivion, and rare is the actor who can resist the statuette-winning, Hanks-Hoffman strategy of mannered tics and mechanical talk. And when you consider that not even Sean Penn could pull it off without making our eyeballs cringe, the performance of Hugh Dancy in the charming romantic comedy “Adam” is all the more impressive.
As the title character, a Manhattan engineer who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism), Mr. Dancy is credibly eccentric yet still accessible. His pin-neat apartment, stocked with multiple macaroni-and-cheese dinners and monotonal outfits, reflects a mind drawn to symmetry and familiarity. So when the dreamy Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into his building and his life, Adam — already at an emotional and professional crossroads — is forced to develop a whole new set of coping skills.
Considering the story’s twee details — Adam’s passion is the heavens, Beth’s is teaching tiny children — and a tonally disruptive subplot concerning Beth’s parents (Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving), “Adam” is more involving than you might expect.
The humor is delicate, and the performances sweet and sure; the script (by the director, Max Mayer) is not entirely predictable, and the Manhattan locations (lovingly photographed by Seamus Tierney) have a starry-eyed glaze. What, you mean New York City isn’t a tranquil, leafy haven?
“Adam” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Discreet coupling and overt soul-baring.
ADAM
Opens on Wednesday nationwide.
Written and directed by Max Mayer; director of photography, Seamus Tierney; edited by Grant Myers; music by Christopher Lennertz; production designer, Tamar Gadish; produced by Leslie Urdang, Miranda de Pencier and Dean Vanech; released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes.
WITH: Hugh Dancy (Adam Raki), Rose Byrne (Beth Buchwald), Frankie Faison (Harlan), Mark Linn-Baker (Mr. Klieber), Amy Irving (Rebecca Buchwald) and Peter Gallagher (Marty Buchwald).
