Adam (Hugh Dancy) is an engineer who designs toys that can talk, thanks to computer chips. In a way, he is like one of his inventions; when someone flips his switch by suggesting she's interested in buying a telescope, he starts talking and doesn't know when to quit.

It's as if he is emptying his brilliant brain on the subject in "Adam," opening today at the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill. A handsome, if nervous, man who avoids eye contact, he seems slightly off or odd.

Although he doesn't say the phrase for the first 30 minutes, Adam has Asperger's syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism marked by an inability to read what others are thinking and feeling. Given the choice of going out or staying home and not deviating from his routine, he would choose the latter.

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'Adam'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

• Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne.
• Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, sexual content and language.
• Web site: 'Adam'

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When Beth (Rose Byrne), a new neighbor in his New York building, asks him to join some friends for a casual night out, he says, "I'd like to go, but I don't think I can." His body language telegraphs his thrum of anxiety and discomfort.

He lost his mother when he was 8 and his father has just died, leaving the 29-year-old lost and sad. But if anyone can anchor and draw out Adam, it might be Beth, a sweet elementary school teacher coming off a bad breakup.

"Adam" tracks the title character, Beth and her parents (Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving) as they wrestle with questions about truth, fidelity and maturity. The cast also includes Frankie Faison as a wonderful longtime friend of Adam's late father, and Mark Linn-Baker as Adam's boss.

Writer-director Max Mayer, a theater veteran who also has directed episodes of TV's "The West Wing" and "Alias," was inspired by a radio story about a man with Asperger's.

He shows us how Asperger's affects Adam's life rather than spending time explaining how it does. Adam has the typical obsession or preoccupation with a certain subject, engages in repetitive routines and (occasional) socially inappropriate behavior while avoiding eye and physical contact.

When Beth shares some devastating news, Adam says, "I can see that you're upset, but I don't know what to do." In a way, though, anyone who struggles to feel normal, cope with loss or forge a new relationship can relate to these characters.

"Adam" is an indie romance with a mix of drama and comedy that allows Dancy to put aside the effortless charm and confidence he exuded in the recent "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

He works his fingers a bit nervously, hugs his knees slightly to his chest when seated on outdoor steps and recoils slightly when colleagues touch him. It's all quite subtle, without a false or obvious note and an impressive display of talent.

Byrne, who most recently played the daughter of the Ezekiel-like prophet who dashed off notable numbers in "Knowing," softens her attitude and look thanks to some costume accessories such as scarves and a beret. Beth is an only child and daddy's girl who deals with children and adults in a gentle, believable way.

Although "Adam" appears to be about a fairy-tale romance, the fairy tale may be about finding oneself. It gives Adam a large leap to consider and conveniently skips over a painful period, but just when you think it's going for the typical, crowd-pleasing ending, it takes a detour.

Like Adam himself, it's not conventional, but the movie is all the better for it and leaves the characters and the audience in a very good place.