Though increasingly prevalent, the behavioural disorders on the autistic spectrum receive scant attention in popular culture. What most people know, they probably learned from either Mark Haddon's enlightening novel The Curious Case Of The Dog In The Night or 1988's four-time Oscar winner Rain Man.

Sigourney Weaver also gave a convincing portrayal of a single mother with Asperger's syndrome more recently in Snow Cake, but nobody saw it. Hopefully this warm and mostly plausible attempt to raise awareness of the condition will reach a wider audience.

After charming his way into Hollywood via fluff-fests The Jane Austen Book Club and Confessions Of A Shopaholic, Hugh Dancy seizes the chance to extend his range beyond the boy next door as Asperger's-affected electrical engineer Adam Raki, the, er, boy downstairs.

Adam's life comprises bed, breakfast (always All Bran), work (developing software for toys), dinner (always macaroni and cheese), astronomy, and bed. His father's death changes nothing.

But when Beth (Aussie sweetie Byrne) takes the apartment above, Adam decides he wants to make her part of his routine. Blinding her with science and nocturnal trips to see the raccoons in Central Park, he is clearly not like other guys. Which is why he gradually wins her heart.

Trouble is, 'Aspies' take life literally, relying on behavioural and verbal honesty to function in society. They don't do abstract or metaphors or sarcasm. They're not much for eye contact or empathy either. They find social conventions confusing. And many common courtesies simply don't make sense.

As a result, they struggle to relate to 'neuro-typicals'. So while Adam is kind, sharing and completely trustworthy, Beth is never sure exactly how he feels. Nobody said the path of true love would run smooth... but it can't be a one-way street.

Mayer guides their relationship with an assured hand, resisting the urge to make Adam a figure of fun (apart from the scene in which he hangs out of a window in a spacesuit) and allowing nature to take its course between his talented young leads.

The acting unions will be pleased to know that some Americans do get to play Americans, with The Wire's Frankie Faison lending genial support as Harlan the philosophical locksmith, Adam's oldest friend.

Less successful is a subplot of pure padding involving Peter Gallagher as Beth's dad, a devious lawyer who seems to have wandered in from the set of a dodgy sitcom. Thankfully, one-time Oscar-nominee and former Mrs Spielberg Amy Irving restores some dignity as his loyal wife.

They say there's nowt so queer as folk. In which case, Adam provides a welcome explanation of why some folk seem queerer than others.

Elliott Noble