Young Adult

“Young Adult” marks the second collaboration between talented screenwriter Diablo Cody and very talented director Jason Reitman. The pair’s first film together was “Juno,” the surprise smash-hit comedy of 2007 about a teenage girl whose likability depended almost entirely on one’s tolerance for quirky-turkey dialogue. “Young Adult” is slightly different; it too is a comedy, albeit a very dark one, about a teenage girl, only this one is pushing 40, but whose likability depends almost entirely on one’s tolerance not for quirky-turkey dialogue but for juvenile bitchiness.

This character is Mavis Gary, played by Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron (“Monster”). At 37 years young, Mavis is a moderately successful author of “Twilight”-esque novels intended for young adults – as is the case with every writer to ever feature in a film, Mavis is suffering from a spot of writer’s block. And when Mavis is not staring blankly at the blinking cursor on her laptop screen in her pig sty of a condo, she’s chugging back gallons of alcohol like a hamster at its water bottle – the fact that Mavis suffers from alcoholism is undeniable, and has also probably helped shape the person she is at the film’s beginning.

As Mavis takes another hopeless stab at writing her new novel, her ex-boyfriend, Buddy (Patrick Wilson, “Insidious”), sends her an email inviting her to come to he and his wife’s baby shower in their small hometown of Mercury, Minnesota. Mavis suddenly realises something: that she and Buddy should be together; that Buddy and his wife, Beth (Elizabeth Reaser, “Twilight”), should not be together; that it should be Buddy and Mavis’ baby shower, not Buddy and Beth’s; that Buddy and Mavis were always meant to be together.

So, Mavis packs her bags, packs her dog and heads off to Minnesota to win back the heart of her happily married family man of a high-school sweetheart, seemingly oblivious to the sheer idiocy of her actions. Luckily, there’s someone to point out this idiocy to her: this is Matt (Patton Oswalt, “Big Fan”), a crippled ex-classmate of Mavis from whom Mavis receives some frank criticism when she bumps into him in a bar – still, Mavis does not listen to her brand new buddy and stubbornly continues with her not-so-noble quest.

I believe many will walk into “Young Adult” expecting light, breezy, R-rated fun with a caricature of immaturity stropping about in the lead role; strip the plot to its bare essentials and it certainly sounds like this. However, those who walk into the film with expectations such as this will be hit with quite a shock – “Young Adult” is in fact a very sad and frequently gloomy character study with touches of jet-black comedy scattered along the side.

I’d say the film is Cody’s most mature film to date, although that’s no difficult feat when your previous theatrical releases are a bright and bubbly indie comedy starring Ellen Page and a teen-oriented horror comedy starring Megan Fox. It is Cody’s first attempt at a proper character study, and she has given herself a fascinating character to pick apart and examine thoroughly – Mavis is also a fascinating character for us, as an audience, to observe and get some insight into.

Mavis is a woman suffering from alcoholism, depression and, as revealed later, trichotillomania (aka compulsive pulling of the hair). She is immature, arrogant, self-centred, unpleasant and self-destructive. She is a grown woman still desperately clinging onto her high-school days, a time when she was popular; essentially, she’s a 17-year-old trapped in a 37-year-old’s body. We are given no real reason to care about her, although some sympathy comes in response to how, frankly, pathetic she is. The film does not judge her, but it does not necessarily empathise with her either.

It goes without saying that Theron is magnificent in the role; she is a wonderful actress and also one of the most versatile in the business. However, not all of the acting praise goes to her; we also have Oswalt, a stand-up comedian and sitcom actor who impressed with his dramatic turn in 2009’s “Big Fan.” He is equally impressive here as a supporting character who bonds with Mavis over the course of the film. Like Mavis, Matt is also yet to let go of his high-school years, during which he was violently attacked for being gay, in spite of the fact that he is not gay.

The film is Reitman’s fourth, the American/Canadian filmmaker having previously directed “Thank You for Smoking,” “Up in the Air” and, as mentioned earlier, “Juno.” And while it may lack the flamboyant visual flair displayed in his previous films, “Young Adult” is beautifully handled by the very gifted director. I can also see what he sees in Cody: she’s a splendid writer with an ear for dialogue and a great sense of character.

“Young Adult” is a fearless film – it gives us a clinically unlikable main character and dares us to relate to her. It is an intriguing study of a complex character: a woman who is selfish and nasty, yet wholly authentic. While funny on occasion, it is also bleak and upsetting, leaving us with a lingering feeling of sadness. It’s a powerful drama and I’m sure in time it will prove itself to be an unforgettable watch.

8/10