REVIEW: Adam

LITTLE ROCK — A sensitive film of much charm, Adam stars Hugh Dancy in the title role as a brilliant young electronic engineer. He's nice-looking but awfully uptight. Not long after the death of his father, with whom he shared a Manhattan apartment, Adam meets new neighbor Beth (Rose Byrne), who's beautiful and outgoing. Intrigued by Adam, Beth gradually attempts to break through his perplexing shell.

In time, she gains Adam's trust and he at last explains that he has Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. He reveals his difficulty in discerning what others are thinking and feeling, his social unease and his need for absolute honesty from others. He also admits an attraction to her. Beth, who has just accepted a teaching job at a nearby private school to support her dream of writing children's books, realizes the attraction is mutual but proceeds with caution; she has just experienced a painful breakup and realizes that Adam presents a challenge.

It's impossible to predict how things will turn out for Adam and Beth, but it's clear that in one way or another they will have considerable impact on each other.

Adam is a great-looking, beguiling film with its burnished Manhattan settings and lovely score. It is the second film from theater director Max Mayer and, to his credit, it is not in the least theatrical in Mayer's script or his direction.

Subtlety and nuance mark the film's dialogue and its performances. It's hard to see how Dancy and Byrne could be any better, and that goes for Frankie Faison, a wise, supportive friend to Adam, and for Peter Gallagher as Beth's dashing - but deceptive - father and Amy Irving as her elegant, resilient mother. Gallagher's and Irving's roles grow in importance as the film progresses, adding crucial dimension.

Adam is a most welcome summer treat.