Young Adam film review

certificate_18

YOUNG ADAM

Based on the 50s Beat novel by cult Scottish author Alexander Trocchi, Young Adam is a superior British film which demands much of its audience. With blistering performances from its four leading actors, and a sensibility more often associated with European cinema (although unlike many European films it does manage to sustain both characterisation and plot development), the film is a welcome cut above the norm.

Ewan McGregor stars as Joe, an itinerant worker on a Glaswegian barge owned by Ella (Tilda Swinton) and run by her husband Les (Peter Mullan). One day Joe and Les make the stark discovery of a nearly naked young woman's body floating down the Clyde. While Les anticipates some minor celebrity through a mention in the newspapers, we learn that Joe may have some connection with the body. Through flashbacks it becomes clear that he had a passionate sexual relationship with the deceased girl Cathie (Emily Mortimer).

Cathie isn't the only girl on Joe's mind however. The tedious days floating down the canal lead to an unspoken erotic charge between himself and Ella, and while her husband pops off for a game of darts it's not long before Joe is scoring his own bullseye with the Captain's wife. But the spectre of the dead girl hangs over him and there is an evident ambiguity as to his possible involvement in her death.

Director David Mackenzie makes excellent use of screen time, emphasising the languid nature of life on the barge. Similarly the screenplay is both sparse and effective: very often the actors are allowed to emote with little or no dialogue.

As a result the performers have a field day. McGregor is superb as the nihilistic Joe. Swinton achieves just the right pitch as the frustrated housewife and Mullan brings his usual conviction to the role of the gruff boatman. Mortimer throws herself into some explicit sex scenes with an energy beyond the call of duty.

Above all, Young Adam forces the viewer to make up their own mind about the events depicted. Far from neatly wrapping the story into a pat Hollywood ending it forces us to question our own morality about what we are witnessing. For any contemporary film to do so, let alone a British one, marks a welcome diversion from the usual diet of teen comedies and overblown blockbusters.