FAQ

Though it is not explicitly stated in the film, Malcolm most likely has Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism sometime labelled 'High Functioning Autism'. People with Asperger's have many of the traits depicted by Malcolm - an obsession with a narrow field of interest (in Malcom's case the Melbourne tram network), the need to follow a routine, an odd gait, poor social skills and the inability to pick up on social hints (e.g. that his neighbour is attracted to him, or that people are bored by his pub monologue about trams). People with the syndrome are typically of average or above-average intelligence, sometime highly so in their field of interest, but often struggle to make friends or hold down a job due to their difficulties with social interaction.