Is Adam retarded?

He's not "retarded". He lacks social skills because of his past and health issues. Caroline actually states how he is smart and how much he reads. He's probably actually smarter than she is. He's just socially awkward and doesn't understand normal social cues because he never experienced it.

For the first half hour I assumed he was mute.

I try not to pathologize people I find strange. Even fictional people.

But something was off. There are multiple threads on this board nitpicking specific behaviors from Adam. I wasn't the only one watching & waiting for some sort of insight the character. Then the movie just ends.

Not saying we needed a psychiatric diagnosis. I enjoyed Napoleon Dynamite because the characters felt so authentically awkward. Other characters noticed & either accepted it or mocked it.

In Untamed Heart, the weirdness is swept under the rug.