Review of Young Adam (2003) by Jeff H — 31 May 2004
Yes, this movie's rated NC-17. No, I'm not a perv for going. Or maybe I am. I went for the great acting of Ewan Macgregor and Tilda Swinton ... or at least that's what I'll tell people. Really, though, they are very good actors, and I'm not totally annoyed by the movie.
The sex is pretty frequent but hardly explicit. You might as well have your eyes closed the whole time, which might actually be what you'd do while having sex with a frazzled Tilda Swinton. You do get one frontal shot of Ewan, which isn't a scene that will go down in the history of cinema.
As for the movie, Macgregor and Swinton both did a great job of inhabiting their characters, and the acting was, largely, pretty good. It's the story that is the problem here. It's, frankly, not all that interesting. Pretty scenes, riding on the river, etc., but the story is just about this detached guy who has sex with a bunch of women, doesn't care about them, then leaves them. There's also a subplot about a murder, but it's just more dressing, really. A loveless marriage. A young guy who ignites the wife's sexuality. Yada, yada, yada. It's better than average because of the acting, but there's not even the benefit of it being good softcore porn. I wouldn't recommend it.
This review of Young Adam (2003) was written by Jeff H on 31 May 2004.
Young Adam has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
