Film Review: Young Adult

Mavis Gary (Theron) is your typical high-school mean girl. Only problem for this adolescent fiction writer is that her behaviour doesn't warrant that of a divorced thirty-seven year old. In a moment of insanity (or serene clarity in her warped mind), Mavis decides to 'liberate' her ex high school boyfriend (Wilson) from the drudgery of marriage and parenthood.

Young Adult is a tragic, yet hilarious portrait of a 'queen bee' who refuses to grow up. If there were ever a more deserving recipient of the title 'condescending super bitch', then unrepentant Mavis would certainly take it with aplomb. She is the type of person who confuses 'being honest' with 'being a nasty piece of work', displaying the same emotional maturity as the characters in the "young adult" fiction she writes. While Mavis is far from stupid what makes her even more deplorable is how unredeeming she is, bearing an uncanny familiarity to Cameron Diaz's equally reprehensible Elizabeth in Bad Teacher. But at least Elizabeth hinted at signs of redemption whereas Mavis shows no indications of personal growth. Indeed, there isn't anything likeable about her, deserving more of pity than hatred which only makes her case all the more sad where the only relief that will come is if she recognises the state she's in.

Given Hollywood's penchant for delivering salvation, it is refreshing that Young Adult eschews most notions of life affirming revelations. However, while sharp and pleasingly subversive in many ways, this also comes as a double-edged sword. Normally for this kind of film the third act will result in some sort of character explosion and a sudden epiphany as to the error of their ways. To say this utterly deviates from this would be inaccurate, but there is an astringent tone to it all which one might either revel in if you're gleefully twisted or view as sickeningly nihilistic. Young Adult will toy with your preconceived notions, brazenly contorting them in a fashion unfamiliar to something of this genre. But it is these shocks which make Young Adult so successful.

Young Adult is one of Theron's best roles to date, brilliantly nuanced in her self-absorbed path of chaos while simultaneously clearly battling a deep-rooted unhappiness. What's more is that she's genuinely funny, even if her train-wreck of a situation is more deserving of sympathy and concern. Patton Oswalt is also excellent, a sardonic ex-classmate named Matt who Mavis never noticed and left crippled by the very jocks she used to hang out with. In an ironic twist he becomes Mavis' confidant and vessel of solace, their scenes together providing the best moments in the film as Matt calls her on her bullshit while she accuses him of using his disability as an excuse for everything. Patrick Wilson is reasonably affable as Buddy, the ex Mavis tries to seduce, but is perhaps a bit too wet and schmaltzy for some tastes. Also, for a film which is centred around a psycho on a mission to break up her ex's marriage, it is  a bit disappointing that we never really get an insight into what Buddy feels himself. Instead he just stands there and smiles awkwardly as Mavis just as gracelessly pulls out all her cringeworthy moves.

Be under no illusions that Young Adult is all sunshine and lollipops - it is more an engrossing exposition of two complex characters. However, that is not to take away from the fact that this is also a very funny comedy. Fortunately director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have managed to achieve an excellent balance between darkly comic and deeply disconsolate. This is sharp, sullen, and by no means saccharine.

Film Review: The Ledge

Gavin (Hunnam) is goaded to the ledge of a high-rise building in a theological double-dare where he is offered until noon to make the fateful decision whether to jump or not. Cop Hollis (Howard), experiencing his own existential crisis, is sent to talk Gavin out of it as The Ledge attempts to explore those hot topics of religion and atheism.

The Ledge is an overwrought criticism of religion where its characters are draped in melodramatic explanations as to their world view, only serving to undermine the central theme that religion is bunk. Indeed, its arguments are vacuous and lacking in depth, merely treading on familiar territory. The Ledge is such a vehemently one-sided debate that it's not even interesting, seeking only to chastise those of faith. Ironically it portrays atheists to be just as morally decrepit and intolerant as the religious freakazoids writer/director Matthew Chapman so hates. For example, the film works through a series of flashbacks as where Gavin gets involved in a love triangle battled out against the backdrop of a theological debate. This serves to spur Gavin on to teach fundamentalist Joe a lesson by corrupting his wife Shana (Tyler) for the sole vindictive purpose of showing his utter contempt for Joe's religious beliefs. Gavin, the film's 'hero' and supposed vehicle for rational atheism, is no better than nutcase Joe. For all intents and purposes he is a pompous asshat who's so self-assured that he's right (ring any fundamentalist bells?) that it's his job to convert those of faith to his side. Gavin barks on about the believer's intolerance of other's lifestyles, only to show he is equally intolerant. All this achieves is to reinforce religious accusations that atheists are morally bankrupt in the same way atheists make people of faith out to be self-righteous pricks.

The acting isn't great either. This is particularly surprising from Sons of Anarchy's Hunnam, who is excellent in the critically acclaimed TV series. He seems contrived and forced in a Hallmark channel drama kind of way. Other performances vary from mere mediocrity to equally slipshod as characters remain one-dimensional and exist merely to add fuel to the fire in sake of the film's philosophical 'arguments'. Patrick Wilson's Joe has been made so mentally unhinged that any debate with him is inherently unfair. Liv Tyler's occupies the anchor role, once again playing that blank, pallid female she seems so adept to. Vapidly vulnerable and having no opinion of her own, she is easily swayed in some vain attempt to add an element of pathos to proceedings. Chapman tries to ward of accusations of bias through Howard's character, portrayed to be the redeeming face of religion. However his banal subplot of bringing up someone else's kids all these years after finding out he's sterile is scarcely dealt with in a satisfying manner. Yes, it shows that religious people can also be mild-mannered and sound of mind while also displaying positive qualities of forgiveness, but his melodramatic tale acts more as just a device to keep the main plot ticking over until the film is over. Moreover all the character's social interactions with one-another are wholly unbelievable, particularly that between Gavin and Joe who take preordained pot shots at each other without ever getting intellectually intriguing.

The Ledge delivers hollow polemic, derisory dialogue and drab drama. It maintains a stale dramatic formula from the cheesy dramas of the nineties and is a film which exists only to display contrived contempt for the religion in the most preachy and verbose manner imaginable. If this wasn't so gulling it might actually be interesting.