The movie Adam, which is currently playing in theaters, centers on a young man with Asperger’s syndrome and the changes a new neighbor brings to his life. Romance can be risky, perplexing and filled with the perils of miscommunication- and that’s if you aren’t ‘Adam,’ for whom life itself is this way. In this heartfelt romantic comedy, Hugh Dancy (‘The Jane Austen Book Club,’ ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’) stars as Adam, a handsome but intriguing young man who has all his life led a sheltered existence – until he meets his new neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne, “Damages,” ’28 Weeks Later,’ ‘Knowing’), a beautiful, cosmopolitan young woman who pulls him into the outside world, with funny, touching and entirely unexpected results. Their implausible and enigmatic relationship reveals just how far two people from different realities can stretch in search of an extraordinary connection. (from Moviefone)
If you watch films online, PBS’s POV Program has another film worth viewing; Filmmaker Kim Longinotto provides an unusual look at a school for troubled kids in this documentary. The Mulberry Bush School is an institution offering educational and treatment options for disturbed youngsters, many of whom have severe anger issues and have committed violent acts against their family and friends. However, at Mulberry Bush, the staff works under the principle that their students are not inherently violent, and that their aggressive nature can be overcome with proper treatment and understanding. With nearly three staff members for every student, Mulberry Bush provides an oasis of understanding for youth with fragile and unsettled psyches, and Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go documents both the severity of their problems and the progress that can be made. Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go was screened in competition at the 2007 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival. From Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
See this movie in its entirety at www.pbs.org/pov/holdmetight/ The web site also includes an update on the students featured and how they are doing.
