Here is a small sampling of what the critics are saying about Hugh. Click the links for the full reviews.

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Village Voice – The acting, by all three principals as well as Adam James in a series of small roles, is first-class, with Dancy, subtly differentiating his two roles, casting the most intense magnetic field.

San Francisco Chronicle – Dancy is equally fine, particularly as the buttoned-up Philip of 1958, an anguished individual who even considers aversion therapy to “cure” himself from an attraction to men.

New Jersey Newsroom – Dancy naturally depicts a tightly-repressed gentleman of then and a well-adjusted fellow of today.

The Faster Times – Hugh Dancy has to my mind the more difficult role of the conflicted Philip, and if some may see the coldness that frames his intensity as the actor’s discomfort in such an explicit role, I see it as a choice to show the damage (self)inflicted on a man in denial.

Backstage – Dancy’s mightily repressed 1958 English alpha male, whose inherent masculinity is undermined by his desires, confidently embraces that same masculinity as part of his modern-day gay identity.

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Another terrific review of Adam from Gossip Sauce! I SERIOUSLY can’t wait to see this movie.

In this beautiful, simple, heart breaking film, Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy, an Aussie and a Brit, play New Yorkers who meet in the laundry room of their glorious Manhattan apartment building. She’s lovely, he’s handsome, she’s a school teacher who wants to write children’s books, he’s got Asperger’s Syndrome, which essentially means he’s highly functioning but borderline autistic.

The record scratches.

Adam, which could easily be written off as the most typical of love stories, is actually a moving, haunting, romantic journey as Beth (Byrne) and Adam (Dancy) move through their courtship without the typical outline of social conventions which are completely foreign and unfathomable to Adam. He necessitates routine and consistency, avoids eye contact, lacks social graces, rambles on incomprehensibly about science or history until his companion is bleary eyed. But he also creates a planetarium just for Beth, is only capable of complete honesty, offers her the most thoughtful favors and welcomes her into his safe, small world.

Dancy’s performance is on par with Hanks in Forrest Gump (a film which actually gets a shout out) and calls to mind Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl, minus the quirk and with some Rainman thrown in, while Byrne gives a performance filled with graceful vulnerability. Rounding out the cast is Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving as Beth’s parents and Frankie Faison as Adam’s lone friend.

The film is perfectly condensed by a line at the end of the film, when Irving tells Byrne, “Feeling loved is important…but loving is the necessity.”

Words to love by from a movie to fall in love with.

Sidenote: We got a personal kick from the film because it features music by one of our personal favorites, Deb Talan, now of The Weepies, formerly of Hummingfish. Look into her, she’s great.

Not too spoilerish – and a STUNNING review from Dark Horizons. WOW!

Love stories that work and are original are rare to find, though they seem to succeed more in the indie world than mainstream Hollywood. What I adored about Max Mayer’s exquisitely crafted “Adam”, was its extraordinary honesty and its ability to develop the film’s central relationship with painstaking truth.

In a magnificent performance, Hugh Dancy stars as Adam, a fiercely intelligent man who lives alone in his New York apartment, has a job creating computer chips for toys, falls in love with his new neighbour, and, oh yes, has Asperger’s Syndrome, which effects his ability to form meaningful social relationships.

Adam of course says what he means and means what he says, yet his neighbour, Beth [Rose Byrne] finds something within him, a soulful innocent perhaps, that draws her to him and they begin a tentative, awkward relationship, while Beth is dealing with her own parental problems.

This is the least likely of romantic dramas, yet not being mainstream Hollywood, is not full of pap happily-ever-afters, but more hopeful optimism when it comes to these intricately drawn characters. Max Mayey’s direction is thoughtful and has created a poetic, lyrical and charming film that really explores the nature of communication within all of us.

It’s a beautiful, joyful work richly layered and gorgeous to watch. Hugh Dancy is a revelation in this film, not overdoing the character or reducing him to self-pity. He is magnificent, as is the luminous and breathtaking Rose Byrne, who lights up the screen, and gives plenty of depth to this fascinating and equally lonely character.

“Adam” is very much a Sundance film, and in a good way: honest, reflective, full of richly drawn characters and a beautiful script that add up to cinematic perfection.

Source: Dark Horizons

I just got this in my Google Alerts and had to post it. Reuters gave Adam a pretty awesome review. There’s a link to it there, or click here. You can also keep reading below, but WATCH FOR SPOILERS, as there ARE spoilers.

PARK CITY, Utah (Hollywood Reporter) – By coincidence, “Adam” is the second film playing at the 2009 Sundance festival to deal directly with a person suffering from Asperger syndrome.

As it did in “Mary and Max,” this neurobiological disorder isolates a main character as the result of his difficulties in social interaction and his inability to understand what is on people’s minds. In attempting to create a romantic film around such a character, writer-director Max Mayer tempts the cinema gods. The result could easily have been pure treacle or just very tacky. “Adam,” fortunately, is neither.

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