Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7497 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-29
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
David Mackenzie's Young Adam, based on Alexander Trocchi's existentialist novel, demonstrates that Ewan McGregor means what he says about using high-paying Hollywood roles to finance appearances in intelligent low-budget movies. As Joe, an aspiring 1950s writer whose alienated selfishness destroys everyone around him, he is quietly authoritative. Tilda Swinton and Emily Mortimer are hardly less good as the two women in his life, and Peter Mullen as Les, the older friend whom he betrays, is touching and macho in the same breath. Les's canal barge is as much of a character as any of the people--this is a film in which the characters' occupations matter. Similarly the 1950s period detail is stunning, as is the gloomy cinematography: the high relief shadows and occasional visual distortions give the film a real visual style of its own that works well with its literary subject matter.

On the DVD: Young Adam is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. Special features include an informative making-of featurette in which the cast members talk about their passionate commitment to the project, the theatrical trailer, an audio track of David Byrne's original score, and a sequence of Ewan McGregor narrative voice-overs that runs with stills on screen. --Roz Kaveney

Special Features

• Audio commentary with director David Mackenzie and Tilda Swinton
  
• Making of Young Adam
  
• David Byrne isolated music score
  
• Cast/crew biographies
  
• Ewan McGregor original passage narration
  
• Trailer

DVD Technical Information:

• Running Time: 98 mins
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
  
• Language: English
  
• Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1

Synopsis
YOUNG ADAM is David McKenzie's adaptation of Alexander Trocchi's novel, a romantic murder mystery set on a barge in the canals of Scotland. Lovely photography by Giles Nuttgens, complemented by a lonely score by David Byrne, provides a picturesque backdrop for what is otherwise a seedy story of morality gone far astray and hopelessness taking hold of everyday life, with sex as the only outlet. Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton both lend excellent performances to the film, acting out a strained relationship of carnal misgiving that is their mutual respite.
Working on a barge that travels to ports between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Joe (McGregor) is a randy ol' chap. He befriends Les (Peter Mullen) as they endure hard days shovelling coal and pass their evenings over pints and darts in the local pubs. But Joe is simply positioning himself to seduce Les' wife, Ella (Swinton), who he easily and frequently beds. This steamy affair, illustrated on-screen by cold, frank and realistic coitus, eventually leads to trouble for all three. A subplot concerns Joe's past romance with a girl (Emily Mortimer) whose mysterious death is reported in local papers, with flashbacks to raunchy sexual interludes representing his fondest memories of her.

Customer Reviews

Miss it and miss out
Forget who the actors are. This film is absorbing and haunting. Whilst it isn't very 'nice' or 'pleasant' it gets into your psyche and stays with you.

There are only a very few films which I have seen - other than funny light comedies - which have made such a long-term impact upon me. Yet this film is not one of the main actor's 'famous' titles. It puts me in the mind of some of those sixties/seventies films and has a really close in feel which means you are compelled to continue watching to find out what happens.

A moody, touching film, and full frontal male nudity (just the once) but much much more than that.

British Cinema is not Dead
I do not exagerate when I articulate this as one of my personal favourite films of recent times. Young Adam is nothing short of a master-piece, and those fortunate to have read the utterly remarkable novella by Alexander Trocchi will be not only astounded by the picture's faith but also how absolutely it captures its tone and atmosphere. McGregor is brilliant in his best performance since Trainspotting as the young beat in '50s Scotland lacking a moral compass , which as the film progresses he is forced to assess. Swinton is also magnificent and oozes grit throughout.

Aside from the enitely brilliant cast the cinematography is superaltive. Such simple shots as the barge moving through a lock-gate, fair-ground lights fading away or even just rain falling onto the canal's surface are rendered absurdly memorable. All of the exceptional photography is heightened by a soundtrack that is at once filth and ethereal. I honestly cannot recommend this film enough although the small screen struggles to do justice to some of the most beautiful frames. And if possible read the Trocchi first (its very short), as it is one of the literature's most overlooked treasures and essential for enthusiasts of modernist and existentialist work. As to the meaning behind the title, two things came to my mind: one would wreck the plot but as for the second, when you watch the film think carefully about the expressionist value of Adam of the Creation, and things should become clear...

Young Adam -not so dark!
A real quality film that works on several levels.
Other reviews led me to believe that this would be dark & depressing.
For me it was neither.
Certainly the gritty realism is there & it accurately reflects life for many in the West Central Scotland of the 1950's.

I see the main theme of the story being the struggles & loneliness of the 'bohemian' writer surviving & making the most of life & sex in the tough working class environment of life on a canal cargo barge.

The 3 main actors Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton & Peter Mullan all give strong performances but are ably supported by the 'lesser' lights.

The extra feature commentary is very useful for filling in the gaps in the plot that you may have missed on 1st viewing.
This confirms that Ewan's 'Joe' character does have a heart & conscience & is not totally dark & selfish.