Underrated/Celebrated

In a monthly feature, I re-evaluate those cinematic gems that for one reason or another, financially/ communally/award seasony, did not receive the recognition they deserved….in my humble opinion anyway.

#1 Young Adult (2011, Jason Reitman)

A comedy, with its fingers painted jet black, Jason Reitmans’ second collaboration with writer Diablo Cody was not embraced as well as their previous effort Juno, whose offbeat charm and snappy lingo created an army of fans for Cody and its endearingly edgy star Ellen Page. But Young Adult, a kind of bitchy older sister to Juno, deserves to be championed just as much for its sardonic look at a woman living in the past and a thoroughly wicked turn from its leading lady. Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a former high school prom Queen and little miss popular, who now is a ghost-writer for teenage fiction books. A recent divorcee Mavis lives in adolescent squalor, an adult in a high rise apartment who acts like they are still expecting their mother to come and tidy their room. Mavis’ girlie books become a metaphor for a woman who is trapped in a state of youth, she spends her days getting primped and preened then getting boozed up and spending the next day in a comatose hungover state. When a chance email arrives in Mavis’ inbox from her old high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (a sweetly naïve Patrick Wilson) announcing the birth of his first child, Mavis takes this is a calling to bring purpose to her stagnant life- she will return to her hometown and rescue Buddy from his dreary existence. She believes that she and Buddy will restore their relationship and live happily ever after, despite Buddy already settled as a loving husband and now a father.

Mavis (Charlize Theron) eyes up her prey Buddy (Patrick Wilson)

 

Arriving back in Minnesota on her one woman charge to ‘save’ her former flame, Mavis enlists the help of high school whipping boy Matt (a subtly affecting Patton Oswalt), a victim of a hate crime which has left him in a perpetual state of passivity, forever defined by the fate dealt in his teenage years. This unlikely duo forms a fragile friendship and the stage is set for a misguided quest-cue cringe-inducing scenes as an oblivious Mavis tries to integrate herself back into a life where she does not belong. Her distain for the mundane small-town existence etched on her face at every corner and her ill-advised behaviour make for a comically uneasy watch.

 

The challenge for Reitman and Cody is do they try and elicit a connection with such an unsympathetic character or make her as monstrous as possible so that the audience disassociate as much as possible. Perhaps more frighteningly we don’t want to see a part of ourselves in Mavis, a woman trying to hold on to her glory days, to stay in the limelight, her unapologetic attitude and steely misdirection are at once refreshing and brutally painful. This can be attributed to Charlize Theron, her portrayal of Mavis is depressingly delicious, a vixen on a mission is surely fun for an actress to play but Theron injects the role with gloomy glam, behind the masquerade of hair pieces of fake eyelashes lays a deeply insecure woman caught in a bygone bubble.

The film eschews the traditions of the Hollywood staple arch by refusing the heroine a clear path of redemption; an air of ambiguity shrouds the final frames and the audience is left wondering whether Mavis has learnt anything at all. This is Young Adult’s ace card, it becomes something more realistic, not everyone learns from their mistakes and some people deny the conventions to grow up as they grow older. This may also have contributed to the films underwhelming reception, its dark heart was not something many viewers could accept. Charlize Theron’s Machiavellian turn was also shamefully ignored by the Academy, despite her previous Oscar for playing a more obvious monster; her fearless performance of deadpan immaturity was overlooked and lost in the midst. Those wanting a chocolate box happy ever ending should avoid this film and it is not quite the comedy that some might expect, its giggles come from the awkwardness of the uncomfortable situations. But for those with a penchant for black humour, characters full of personality but also flaws and a wicked satirical edge should discover Young Adult, a refreshingly downbeat film with fabulous performances that shines in a murky kind of way.