Young Adult – a black comedy which is more black than comedy

Director: Jason Reitman

Running Time: 1 hour 30 mins

Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser

 

I hadn’t read anything much about Young Adult before I went to see it and so was rather taken aback at how dark it was considering the film poster depicts a grumpy but fluffy young woman. This was definitely not a fluffy film. In fact, discomfort is the predominant emotion on the part of the viewer. The main character, Mavis, played by Charlize Theron, is newly divorced and determined to get back her high school sweetheart despite the fact that he is happily married with a young baby. Her attempts to do so are awkward and he seems quite oblivious to her seduction attempts, which just makes it even more awful. She is exceedingly beautiful and was in the popular set at school but life has not turned out the way she had hoped and she hides her despondency with copious amounts of alcohol. She is seriously damaged and hugely unlikeable. Charlize is a brilliant actress who portrays this character with few redeeming features to perfection. I won’t say anything more about the film so I don’t spoil it but there is another major character in this train wreck of an attempt to recover one’s youth and he is brilliant too – again an uncomfortable portrayal of a broken soul but played so well by Patton Oswalt. This film has a message, yes, but it’s a dark message many of us know well and I’m not sure I needed it spelt out quite so brutally. But if you want to see great acting, then go see this.