Ella (Tilda Swinton) may have been the boss’ wife, but Joe (Ewan McGregor) couldn’t have cared less.  Their torrid affair took his mind off the beautiful dead girl found floating in the river.  Her name was Cathy (Emily Mortimer), and Joe was the last person to see her alive.  Was her death an accident?  Suicide?  Or was it murder?  Only Joe knows for certain.

CRITIQUE

In a small, desolate Scottish port, a body washes up on the dock.  Joe and Les (Peter Mullen) fish her out.  She has no identification, and there is no clue as to where she came from.  Joe and Les turn her over to the authorities and move on down the river.  The barge, where we will spend much of the film, sets the claustrophobic, brooding setting of the film.  Two men and a woman on a boat can make for interesting cinema, as anyone who has seen L’Atalante or Knife In the Water knows.  In Young Adam, that chemistry is even more dangerous, creating a tense atmosphere of unpredictability.

It is inevitable that Joe will sleep with Ella.  She is locked in a loveless marriage to Les, and we get the impression that he knows about his wife’s indiscretion with Joe long before Joe and Les actually confront one another.  At one point, as Ella and Joe linger, they hear Les’s boots on the deck overhead, and she says, “he’s letting us know he’s back.”  With the close quarters on the ship, and the fact that Joe and Ella are carrying on right below deck while Les up top, working, we have to wonder if there is any way Les could not know.  The affair is less about infidelity than it is about Joe trying to escape his own memory.

As they move down the river, we learn that Joe knows more about the dead girl than he lets on.  Cathy was her name, and she and Joe were living together, Cathy supporting the two of them while Joe, who fancies himself a writer, works on his opus.  The story comes to us in flashback; the whole film is a patchwork kind of narrative, revealing information in bits and pieces.  To say that Joe does not treat Cathy well would be an understatement.  He uses her, humiliating her in one scene, and, worst of all, does not act when he should.  Joe may not be a very likable character, but he is unlikable in a way that makes him human.  He acts the way we ourselves might act in certain circumstances.  Young Adam is far from the ideal vision of man that people seem to crave so much, and it is a far more honest portrait.  Les ends up leaving the barge (it actually belongs to Ella), and Joe and Ella live together for a time, the story taking on a parallel to the life Joe had with Cathy.

The tragedies in the film are caused less by Joe’s actions than by his inactions.  He could step up and do something, but he does not, and lives go down in flames because of it.  The film, which takes place in the late 1950’s, shows a much harder society than what exists today, and every frame of the film seems caked with the soot that covers the barren Scottish landscape.  The film is like great literature: difficult, hard to watch at times, but worth the effort in the end.

COMPLAINT: This DVD is the edited, “R” rated version of the film. The original theatrical version was rated NC-17, and was a good deal rawer than what we have here. While the overall film suffers only slightly, it would be preferable to have the entire film, unedited, on DVD.

THE VIDEO

Young Adam is presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  The film’s striking, stark photography is brilliantly translated.  The color levels are sharp, and the overall picture quality is crisp.

THE AUDIO

English and French tracks are available on this DVD, both in Dolby Digital 5.1.  The presentation is sharp.  The sound comes through well at all levels.

THE EXTRAS

Director’s commentary: David Mackenzie talks about adapting the novel and how the film came together.  He talks about how casting choices were made, shooting conditions, and other interesting aspects of shooting.

Cast & crew commentary: The film’s editor, production designer, director Mackenzie, and actress Swinton talk about the film from their various points of view.

Extended scene: An extended cut of an early scene in the film that shed some light on the relationship between Joe and Ella.

Ewan McGregor original passage narration: Three short pieces of voice over narration that were cut from the film.

Also included is the film’s theatrical trailer, in a section of the bonus material that also includes previews of other upcoming DVD releases.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Young Adam is a stark, gripping, expertly crafted film, well represented on DVD.  While not the full NC-17 version, what we have is still quite remarkable.  The bonus material is detailed and gives an interesting look at the production.