Young Adam (**)
review by Jon Waterman

When a body finds its way to shore, barge worker Joe starts to act different. After coming out of nowhere to land the job, the bargeman’s wife eyes him. One can’t help but wonder if he knows something the husband and wife that own the barge don’t. Most of the glances are suspicious until Joe starts making passes at the unsatisfied boat wife. Things progress and now Joe may be hiding two secrets.

This film is all over the place. It seems to be trying to be many things at once. It’s a crime drama/murder mystery/suspense/erotica/court room drama. None of these genres are played out sufficiently enough to work. The internal struggles of Ewan McGregor as Joe would have been much more effective had his churning mind not been set on top of a shifting storyline. Another thing that bothered me was the use of flashbacks to heighten the tension and mystery of it all. Ultimately, it does nothing and may have worked with the general theme of triumph over self better if the memory sequences were ordered differently (perhaps in reverse chronological order).

I enjoyed Ewan’s performance. His character obviously was distressed from the start and it was interesting to see him take his pressure out on others in various capacities. Joe has the potential to be good or evil and the choices he makes take him farther away from the good. Ewan plays the slow descent well. The other actors do a fine job, too, but McGregor shows off some subtle work.

The dark nature of the character and the story is reflected in the landscapes. I’ve never seen the lush greenery of Scotland be conveyed as bland and unappealing as it is here. The colors pop out, but yet seem utterly drab and lifeless. The lighting and restricted palette elsewhere only enhances this feel. It’s a shame the plot couldn’t be as consistent.

The film is rated NC-17, because there is a lot of nudity including some full frontal male exposure. Most of it seemed pretty gratuitous and almost like they were showing off. Another NC-17 film from this year, “The Dreamers,” also has a lot of nakedness from both sexes, but it fits the characters and thus the story. Also there it becomes unnoticeable because it’s so natural to them. Here, the nudity is sometimes raw and gritty and dirty, which is what the film calls for. Other times, it’s just there and in your face, and that was off-putting. Mix that with the adult themes and language (and the fact that children wouldn’t care to see the movie anyway) and the rating is deserved.

The movie is acted well and looks beautifully morbid and disgusting. However, the lack of clear focus and direction throughout kept me from getting into it and enjoying myself. It’s nothing special.

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