Asperger's Syndrome and the Nazis

OK, those two things don't seem to connect, but they did yesterday, because in the afternoon when the clouds were merely threatening, my daughter and I went to see Adam. This isn't a film for everyone. It's an indy film with such fine acting by Hugh Dancy that the flaws in the script might be worth it. Dancy plays Adam, a young man suddenly alone when his father dies and his Asperger's Syndrome keeps him thoroughly isolated. Hugh Dancy was the Earl of Essex in the HBO Elizabeth I, and we saw him on Broadway in Journey's End, which didn't quite capture his charisma that the big screen manages.

The trailers to Adam pretty much tell the story: a young man with Asperger's Syndrome befriends Beth, a beautiful young teacher who moves in next door in Manhattan. Beth has a much-too-close relationship with her father and is licking her wounds from a failed romance with an investment banker that her father wants her to marry. OK, why would she fall for Adam? That is a big flaw in the film unless the phrase "co-dependent" comes up. And this is another film with the "all knowing" Black man who is the only human being who understands Adam. However, for a Saturday afternoon with my twenty-year old daughter, it was perfect. And we didn't get any popcorn.

Later last evening we went to see Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's new film. Now I admit to being obsessed with the Holocaust. It began when I sneaked reading Meyer Levin's Eva and then Leon Uris' Exodus and Mila 18 when I was still a kid. My grandmother used to go through her family album, pointing out with tears in her eyes, who didn't make it through the war in Roumania. I couldn't have enough of Anne Frank, the abridged and unabridged versions as well as the play (and one of my favorite David Sedaris essays is about his coveting Anne Frank's hideout as the perfect apartment for him and Hugh). There are those who believe I should be hosting a site of Holocaust-based films, because I've seen them all, except I couldn't bring myself to see Woman in Berlin.

Inglourious Basterds is perhaps Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction, which had been my personal favorite despite its self-indulgence and sheer insanity. (Part one with Uma Thurman and John Travolta, well I have no idea how many times I've seen it!) There is less violence, minutes go by without any murder, which seems incongruous for a film about Nazi-occupied France, especially as portrayed by Tarantino. And there are great moments of subtle directing, something I've never seen before in his oeuvre. Watch for the "milk" and "strudel" scenes, where great acting, timing, and cinematography all combine into perfect moments.

Christoph Waltz is the star of the film, not Brad Pitt. He plays the most adept Nazi Gestapo officer ever. And remember, I know the films of this genre. He is likable almost, because he is so good at what he does, and so seamless in his manipulations. Extraordinary. Then there is Melanie Laurent who plays the runaway Jewess, Shosanna. Her beauty, courage, her determined intentionality make her into the unexpected hero of this film.

And then there is Brad Pitt. Our friend Ginger thought he was utterly miscast, but I didn't. I believe the film needs a character who is thoroughly American with that exuberance and optimism, and that is what Pitt delivered. He is funny; his portrayal is up there with his character in Snatch. He is over the top in his Americanism, and that is what the film needs, because much of it is in French, German, and Italian. And afterall, it is Tarantino.