YOUNG ADAM
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In 1957, a young drifter, Joe (Ewan McGregor, "Big Fish") is hired by Les
Gault (Peter Mullan, "The Magdalene Sisters") to work on the barge he
operates between Glasgow and Edinburgh. When the two find the body of a
woman floating in the water, Joe doesn't let on that he knows the victim.
Tension builds in the confined space as a mystery rooted in morality builds
around Joe, in writer/director David Mackenzie's adaptation of the
Alexander Trocchi novel, "Young Adam."
Although this film is beautifully crafted and well acted (particularly by
the fearless Swinton), "Young Adam" features such morally bankrupt
characters that it's difficult to care about any of them. Only Emily
Mortimer ("Lovely & Amazing") as Cathie Dimly, whose floating body is the
first thing we see, is a sympathetic character. Call this one a Scottish
"Alfie" with a less charming protagonist.
We know Joe is lying by omission after he and Les haul a woman's body out
of the Clyde. He sends Les off, then surreptitiously lays a caressing hand
on the woman's back, pulling down her slip to cover her naked buttocks.
Only twice more does Joe exhibit the merest hint of caring for another
human being.
Joe finds excuses to leave Les in Glasgow bars so he can stay on the barge
and shag his wife (Les is usually impotent from the evening's drink). Les,
thrilled to be a minor player in a big local news event, avidly follows the
case of the drowned woman, especially when it turns into a murder case.
Joe and Cathie's past is shown in flashback, from its sexual beginning to
its very unpleasant dual climax. Cathie's most recent, married boyfriend
is charged with her murder. Back on the barge, Les discovers Joe and Ella's
affair and leaves. Ella, who owns the boat, assumes Joe will marry her,
but he shows his true colors by casually having her slatternly sister Gwen.
Joe leaves the barge and falls into the home of another married couple
with a willing wife. He is briefly reunited with the Gaults (although only
Ella sees him) when he attends the murder trial on the day Les testifies.
Joe knows the accused is innocent and squirms from the guilt of it all.
There is no Adam in "Young Adam," and, if the reference is biblical, it is
a perplexing one. The women of 1957 Glasgow may all be portrayed as
unusually promiscuous, but no apples are proffered to Joe, an aggressive
seducer. Ewan McGregor, whose propensity for full frontal nudity has
earned this film an NC-17 rating, is good as the good-looking heel, but
there is little depth to the morose young man who drifts from one shoddy
affair to the next taking no responsibility for his actions. Swinton, on
the other hand, is terrific conveying an unimaginative lower class laborer.
Her grimy, clammy appearance conveys an utter lack of vanity, yet despite
this, Swinton still steams up the screen (one of the film's most disturbing
visuals is a closeup of a fly sitting next to her nipple).
Peter Mullan is fine as a simple man looking for simple pleasures and Emily
Mortimer conveys a bruised vulnerability as the lovely, abused Cathie.
Therese Bradley is a standout as Ella's floozy of a sister (kudos to hair
by Meg Speirs who makes Gwen a redhead with black roots).
Besides Swinton's down and dirty performance, "Young Adam's" best component
is Giles Nuttgens's ("Swimfan") rich cinematography, which gives Scotland's
cities the dark look of old Victorian architecture and its countryside the
appearance of a land drenched in water (this despite the film's lack of
rainy days). He gives the barge's cramped below decks a spacial identity
(production design by Laurence Dorman). Nuttgens's stunning visuals
include a shot of Joe walking towards the back of the barge as it moves
forward with Joe static in center frame and a beautiful, symbolically black
silhouette of Joe steering the barge beneath a stone bridge. Original
music by David Byrne is too arty for this dark period piece, with
distracting jazz riffs overly amplified in the sound mix.
"Young Adam" is worthwhile for its artistry, but a bit of a drudge to sit
through. In the end, we're not even given the satisfaction of Joe burdened
with guilt. His last acts is to throw away a gift from Cathie - a mirror
etched with 'Think of me when you look at yourself.'
B-
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