Adam is the story of Adam Raki (played by Hugh Dancy), a 29 year old man living with Asperger's syndrome. He is employed as an electrical engineer at a toy company and is an amateur astronomer. More or less, he's what I'd probably be with actual useful talents and contributions to the greater world of science. Like many people with Asperger's syndrome, he leads a fairly methodical and organized life. He eats the same thing every day, and his closet would be something out of a cartoon if it wasn't right there in front of you.
This being a romantic comedy, another party gets involved in this man's life. In this case, it's Rose Buchwald, an elementary school teacher and more or less the complete opposite of Adam. As a part of her job, it's her duty to be an empathic person, while Adam is wrapped up in his own mind and thoughts most of the time.
I'll spare reading off the details as I'm not a professional movie reviewer, so I'll just direct you to the NY Times review of the film.
What I can offer of the film is what I personally felt for myself, not as some sort of critic with any sort of person, but as the lay person who empathizes with the main character.
Some out there (namely this fellow) have pegged me as having the same syndrome as Adam in the movie. There exist dissenters out there as well, some of whom have worked with people who actually have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Whatever the case may be, I found myself empathizing with the character on a very strong level. While I don't fully possess the exact same characteristics as he does (again, he actually has useful electrical engineering skills), I do understand the frustration he must feels when he can't empathize with people at all and get anything right when he is stumbling through his romance of Rose. When Adam is let go of his job (whoops, spoiler, but unimportant), you see things through his point of view, and he's simply seeing through a muted tunnel. That visualization is perhaps one of the best ways to explain it.
Now whether or not I actually have Asperger's is up for debate. I might just be very socially awkward and a "normal," "functioning" "member" of society. Nonetheless, it's one thing to have to try to wade through an occasional awkward moment in your life; it's quite another when it's nearly paralyzing and all you get out of it are what could be construed as panic attacks. I couldn't help but root for Adam as he is assisted in his endeavor to form a human bond with Rose, probably one of the most difficult things for someone in his position to do.
I also couldn't help but appreciate the effort given by Rose to help Adam. Trying to deal with someone like that who is simply clueless and firmly entrenched in their methodology of life must be incredibly frustrating. For Christ's sakes, I find myself a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes and I know what I'm like already. Imagine someone who hasn't had to deal with someone who's got the same quirks as me. Welcome to a world of hurt there. And kudos to anyone out there willing to persevere through that. The world could use more people like that.
This being a romantic comedy, another party gets involved in this man's life. In this case, it's Rose Buchwald, an elementary school teacher and more or less the complete opposite of Adam. As a part of her job, it's her duty to be an empathic person, while Adam is wrapped up in his own mind and thoughts most of the time.
I'll spare reading off the details as I'm not a professional movie reviewer, so I'll just direct you to the NY Times review of the film.
What I can offer of the film is what I personally felt for myself, not as some sort of critic with any sort of person, but as the lay person who empathizes with the main character.
Some out there (namely this fellow) have pegged me as having the same syndrome as Adam in the movie. There exist dissenters out there as well, some of whom have worked with people who actually have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Whatever the case may be, I found myself empathizing with the character on a very strong level. While I don't fully possess the exact same characteristics as he does (again, he actually has useful electrical engineering skills), I do understand the frustration he must feels when he can't empathize with people at all and get anything right when he is stumbling through his romance of Rose. When Adam is let go of his job (whoops, spoiler, but unimportant), you see things through his point of view, and he's simply seeing through a muted tunnel. That visualization is perhaps one of the best ways to explain it.
Now whether or not I actually have Asperger's is up for debate. I might just be very socially awkward and a "normal," "functioning" "member" of society. Nonetheless, it's one thing to have to try to wade through an occasional awkward moment in your life; it's quite another when it's nearly paralyzing and all you get out of it are what could be construed as panic attacks. I couldn't help but root for Adam as he is assisted in his endeavor to form a human bond with Rose, probably one of the most difficult things for someone in his position to do.
I also couldn't help but appreciate the effort given by Rose to help Adam. Trying to deal with someone like that who is simply clueless and firmly entrenched in their methodology of life must be incredibly frustrating. For Christ's sakes, I find myself a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes and I know what I'm like already. Imagine someone who hasn't had to deal with someone who's got the same quirks as me. Welcome to a world of hurt there. And kudos to anyone out there willing to persevere through that. The world could use more people like that.
No comments:
Post a Comment