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computerlove
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02 Aug 2009, 12:37 pm

http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/movies/29adam.html
who has seen it?


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Seanmw
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02 Aug 2009, 5:50 pm

computerlove wrote:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/movies/29adam.html
who has seen it?
where would i go to see it?


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07 Aug 2009, 10:51 am

I've heard of it, and read reviews about it. Apparently the actor does a good job potraying Asperger's and the film has been compared to the other AS film, Mozart & The Whale.

I should know this, I read Empire. :D They gave it 3/5.



computerlove
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07 Aug 2009, 11:09 pm

Seanmw wrote:
where would i go to see it?

here you can find where and buy tickets:
http://content.foxsearchlight.com/inside/node/3651


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08 Aug 2009, 12:38 am

In the entire DC metro area, it's only playing at 2 places: 1 theater in DC and 1 in Maryland. Not playing anywhere in Virginia.

Oh well. From the trailer, it doesen't look like the people who made it knew anyone with AS. It looks like an NT's interpretation of AS, based on the DSM's criteria of young child aspies.


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parakoopa
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15 Aug 2009, 12:07 am

the movies only available in certain areas, its not being distributed that much from what i can tell,

but Flismflop is right, its probobly some NT interpretation of AS, and is totally stereotypical, but i havnt seen the movie, so i cant tell you.


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22 Aug 2009, 4:09 pm

I actually went to see Adam with a couple of other Aspies. We all thought it wasn't as bad as we expected and that the guy who played Adam did a pretty good job. I thought that the main character wasn't given enough dignity and was sometimes portrayed as overly childish (one of the Aspies in my group thought the character sometimes came off as a holy fool), but at other points Adam functions as a completely capable adult (he lives independently and isn't sexually neutered like a lot of fictional disabled characters).
There was a surprising lack of knowledge about autism in the film's non-autistic characters. It almost felt like the movie was set ten years ago, before the disorder was widely known. But overall, the film was perfectly adequate and its attitude was reasonably affirming.



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25 Aug 2009, 8:22 pm

Greensmith wrote:
I actually went to see Adam with a couple of other Aspies. We all thought it wasn't as bad as we expected and that the guy who played Adam did a pretty good job. I thought that the main character wasn't given enough dignity and was sometimes portrayed as overly childish (one of the Aspies in my group thought the character sometimes came off as a holy fool), but at other points Adam functions as a completely capable adult (he lives independently and isn't sexually neutered like a lot of fictional disabled characters).
There was a surprising lack of knowledge about autism in the film's non-autistic characters. It almost felt like the movie was set ten years ago, before the disorder was widely known. But overall, the film was perfectly adequate and its attitude was reasonably affirming.


Actually, though I find I tend to think of AS as being common knowledge, the odds are that any person I know that I should happen to mention it to is not going to have any idea what it means. It is entirely plausible that whole groups, families, or communities even today aren't going to have an inkling. So that part wouldn't put me off.

But I don't have anyone to see it with, either. We don't hire babysitters anymore and I don't really expect anyone around here to be interested anyway.


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28 Aug 2009, 7:30 am

I have not seen it. However the snippet they showed on a movie review show really gave me the sh**s. The bit I saw shows Adam explaining how 'aspies' cannot lie, talks about 'NT's' and mentions historical 'aspies' eg Einstein, Mozart and Jefferson. It had the unfortunate effect of reminding me of some of the 'aspie elitist' bulls**t that rears its ugly head on WP from time to time.

So if if someone can assure me that this theme is not continued throughout the film then I will gladly go and see the it, otherwise I am steering a wide berth around it.


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28 Aug 2009, 3:23 pm

'K I FINALLY saw it. Although they portrayed some things correctly, they ran too far with 'em and tended to focus MAINLY on NEGATIVE aspects!! :x Man, that just butters me up!! Like the part where Adam has a meltdown, and also where he's let go from his job because he's "mentally dyslexic" (it's not a real term it's my own, lol :P and it happens when Adam's boss says something like "5 in 1000, not 1 in 5000", or something like that...don't quote me 'cuz I don't remember the actual line but it was something like that). And the whole "sexually excited" part?! THAT was actually (borderline) offensive to me 'cuz I've known plenty of Aspies in my lifetime and none of them are THAT brutally honest (except maybe my dad, lol :P but not in THAT way...) I was even MORE offended by the part where Beth (Adam's girlfriend in the movie)'s dad discusses with her that she needs a relationship with someone who is more her equal and not a "child" like Adam.

THIS is the very reason why I feel hesitant about having a relationship with a girl who doesn't have Asperger's (or possibly a "similar" disability) - because I'm afraid they'll think of me as a "child". About (roughly) 90 % of the time I try to keep my meltdowns under control, but I DO have a tendency to get anxious toward many situations, I'm naive, and emotionally, well...I am a child :( I think that really sucks, 'cuz there's only so many people with Asperger's in the world, and even LESS of those people are girls :( Yet I really want to have a relationship with a girl nonetheless (ideally a live one where we actually can meet each other within an hour-long driving distance or less). It's a prospect in life that I've looked forward to ever since I was 5 years old or maybe even younger than that.

I guess the good thing is that I have a lot of confidence in myself that someday I CAN learn to "blend in" with a public crowd. In particular I think I can do it socially, and I actually HAVE a couple times I just need to put it into practice that's all. Physically, however, there's problems :x Seems like to a lot of people I walk more like a monkey (or robot) than a man, yet I don't notice this. It bothers me 'cuz I feel like when people point these things out that it's like I'm on hallucinogenic drugs (which I've never taken and, no, I don't plan to either), and that is not a good feeling to have. It makes me feel like I'm dumb :( I also have severe problems with peripheral vision, which makes it so that my chances of learning to drive are pretty much slim to none. If I ever end up with a "normal" girl as my date/significant other, I hope she'll be able to accept this and not feel like she has to "drag me around" everywhere :( My own father feels negatively about carting me around, so imagine how a GIRL would feel (if she's NT, that is).

Sorry if I went off-topic there I didn't mean to. Point is, "Adam" proved to me what Johnny Rotten had said all along at the end of "God Save the Queen" - "No future, no future, no future for you" :( I hope that isn't true for me too :(



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29 Aug 2009, 7:14 pm

DentArthurDent wrote:
I have not seen it. However the snippet they showed on a movie review show really gave me the sh**s. The bit I saw shows Adam explaining how 'aspies' cannot lie, talks about 'NT's' and mentions historical 'aspies' eg Einstein, Mozart and Jefferson. It had the unfortunate effect of reminding me of some of the 'aspie elitist' bulls**t that rears its ugly head on WP from time to time.

So if if someone can assure me that this theme is not continued throughout the film then I will gladly go and see the it, otherwise I am steering a wide berth around it.


I remember the scene you're referring to here. It annoyed me, too. It just put across how heavily the film relied on stereotypes. However, luckily he mentions "aspies" and "NTs" only once each in the film. But, if you are looking for a reasonable depiction of AS, you won't find it in this film. True, Adam's isolation and loneliness is quite well portrayed, and are probably aspects of the film most people with AS can relate to on some level. But overall, the message of the film seemed to be that people with AS are basically doomed to a life of romantic failure and exile from society, which is not something that I, a person with AS, agrees with.

Another thing that annoyed me a bit about this film was the numerous mentions of Lianne What's-her-name...Lianne Holliday Wiley, is it? Her books are plugged half a dozen times or so. I wonder what role she had in this film, hmm.

AS is supposed to be on the more highly functioning end of the autism spectrum, but at many points in the film Adam makes Rainman look like an ordinary person!



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07 Sep 2009, 10:55 pm

I just saw Adam and I thought it was pretty amazing for a bunch of reasons:

1. I thought it was a good movie, just as a movie.

2. It gives a positive archetype that I think will help NTs relate to us better.

3. The end was totally empowering. When he left Manhattan and was with other astronomy geeks, all his problems went away.

4. I think they portrayed aspie characteristics pretty well. It's funny, because my NT partner thought they were a little heavy handed, but he still missed half the references. Any more subtle and it would all be an 'inside joke'.

And a little quibble with GriffinGuitar12: The boss was talking about price and volume: '1000 units at $5 each, not 5 units at $1,000'. Adam was trying to make then too good, which would make them cost too much.


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08 Sep 2009, 12:56 am

I haven't seen it, but in reading these posts, I did have to wonder whether they really got Asperger's wrong or whether the variety of experiences so many people have had make it hard for some of us to watch Adam's particular set of issues. It is entirely possible that there are Aspies just like Adam. There may be other issues in the film, of course, but that one I thought could be subject to viewpoint. Trouble is, of course, that many people who know little about AS may tend to assume that the guy in the film represents all Aspies. But then, you're going to have people make sweeping generalizations from time to time no matter what.


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brothersport
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08 Sep 2009, 2:12 am

I liked it, and it had a nice ending (not the typical Hollywood BS). This film was nothing spectacular or ground-breaking, nor do I have much desire to see it again or buy the DVD. I saw a free screening of Adam about a month ago and it was certainly worth the price of admission and the 2 hours of my time. Had I paid full price for admission, I would have also been satisfied.

I don't think it was meant to be an all-encompassing portrayal of AS. This wasn't a documentary, it was just a quirky non-traditional love story, with AS thrown in as a bit of a gimmick. There is enough substance in the film to appeal to many people with AS, but I don't see this film 'educating the masses'. At best, the audience will share laughs at "Adam's" awkward expense and walk out of the theater with the same dopey delusions they have with any other Hollywood romanticized story on-screen -- definitely not applied to real life in any meaningful way.