Arriving following the backlash transgender drama Girl received upon general release earlier in the year, Adam is a great argument for letting trans people tell their stories.

| Sep 27, 2019

There could've been room for this comedy to be more than its distasteful premise, but because of how blandly conventional and transparent the characters are, Adam is just meh.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 31, 2019

I didn't really care for the film.

| Aug 26, 2019

The film offers a bold perspective on how it feels to be outside mainstream society, seeking a community of like-minded people.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 26, 2019

Adam is too tonally uneven for me to really admire it-it has the broad concept of a major studio movie in which you're supposed to buy every character's stupidity, but then it's framed and scripted like an intimate, mumbling indie.

| Aug 23, 2019

In the end, Adam is the kind of movie that, despite some good moments and reasonably noble intentions, ultimately does not quite work, though it could potentially inspire some viewer to one day make another movie along these lines that genuinely does.

| Aug 23, 2019

Though 2006 might not seem too far removed from our present, in terms of LGBTQ visibility the distance between then and now is considerable. "Adam" reminds us how much, thankfully, society has slowly changed and yet how far we still are from real change.

| Aug 22, 2019

All large-scale LGBT storytelling runs into an unfair question, one that cis and straight artists can safely ignore. In order to represent your experiences, do you court outrage or concede to good taste? Adam is a nonanswer.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 19, 2019

Tender, funny and refreshingly un-Hollywood. Nicholas Alexander gives a breakthrough performance.

| Original Score: 8.5/10 | Aug 19, 2019

The brilliance of Adam is that it shows these dating microaggressions without forcing a trans character to experience this abuse. Instead in these moments, we get to laugh at the absurdity of these cis people and Adam's cluelessness.

| Aug 16, 2019

Adam may not be above reproach, but its good intentions are infectious.

| Original Score: B- | Aug 14, 2019

Ernst doesn't feel a moral obligation to only depict behavior onscreen that he endorses, and neither should any filmmaker, for that matter. Such limitations are the antithesis of art.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2019

"Adam" is a movie that tackles big ideas about queerness and comes out looking confused - making it an experience that frustrates even as it tries to endear.

| Aug 13, 2019

Adam proves why it's essential for trans creatives to have a role in telling stories about their community: Ernst presents Schrag's material from a distinctly trans perspective

| Aug 13, 2019

This is a gem of a film, mixing acknowledged awfulness with gentle culture clash comedy and a surprising amount of warmth.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 8, 2019

Director Rhys Ernst took a bold step in adapting this difficult material for the big screen, and what he delivered was a surprisingly hilarious, complicated look at a pivotal moment in queer culture.

| Feb 7, 2019

While Adam seems almost like a rite of passage before we get more complex trans dramas in mainstream filmmaking, one can't help but feel frustrated by its missed opportunities.

| Original Score: C+ | Feb 2, 2019

Ultimately, Adam is one of those films that works well, both as a learning lesson and a conversation starter for transgender issues.

| Jan 26, 2019

Along with screenwriter and novel author Ariel Schrag, Ernst manages to create a balance between the raunchy and charming at the same time. It's a feel good film, but in the most unexpected way.

| Jan 26, 2019

This gentle comedy likely won't achieve a big level of chatter, but there's value in its earnest and authentic take on the coming-of-age film.

| Original Score: B | Jan 26, 2019