Young Adam (2003)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writers:

Alexander Trocchi (novel)
David Mackenzie (writer)

Release Date:

4 September 2003 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.

Plot Keywords:

River | Drifter | Barge | Police | Murder

Awards:

7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Joe Taylor
Tilda Swinton	...	Ella Gault
Peter Mullan	...	Les Gault
Emily Mortimer	...	Cathie Dimly
Jack McElhone	...	Jim Gault
Therese Bradley	...	Gwen
Ewan Stewart	...	Daniel Gordon
Stuart McQuarrie	...	Bill
Pauline Turner	...	Connie
Alan Cooke	...	Bob M'bussi
Rory McCann	...	Sam
Ian Hanmore	...	Freight Supervisor
Andrew Neil	...	Barman
Arnold Brown	...	Bowler Hat Man
Meg Fraser	...	Stall Woman

Also Known As:

Young Adam (France)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for some explicit sexual content.; Rated R for strong sexual content, some disturbing behavior and language. (edited version)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Singapore:R21 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (edited version)

Filming Locations:

Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK

Company:

Film Council

Trivia:

This was the first film which Mcgregor did not take his family along for the shoot.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The chords heard as Les plays the guitar change, but his fingers don't move.

Quotes:

Les Gault: What'd you do that for?
Joe Taylor: I had no use for it.
Les Gault: Must be worth something, though.
Joe Taylor: Not to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Long Way Round" (2004)

Soundtrack:

HAITIAN FIGHT SONG

Well-crafted film with strong performances and a pervading, restrained sadness that echoes its Beat heritage.

Young Adam is a powerful and atmospheric drama set on the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh during the 1950s.

Ewan McGregor is Joe, a drifter working on a barge, when he and his boss find a body in the canal. As he begins an affair with the bargeman's wife (Tilda Swinton), we find out more about his previous relationship with the drowned woman (Emily Mortimer).

Adapted from the novel by Scottish Beat writer Alexander Trocchi, Young Adam is, in some ways, a kitchen sink drama – a vivid picture of working class life in its unpleasant reality. One of the best examples of this type of film is Room at the Top (1959). But Young Adam has existentialist overtones: Joe is alienated and passive, and not only do his numerous sexual couplings offer him little pleasure, but in rejecting the only thing that could redeem him, he condemns himself to a meaningless life. This might sound too depressing, but screenwriter and director David Mackenzie gives the film great depth and sensuality. Very interesting. ****/***** stars.