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Young Adam (2003)

tomatometer

62

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 116
Fresh: 72 | Rotten: 44

A grim mood piece with good performances from the leads.

63

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 12

A grim mood piece with good performances from the leads.

audience

48

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 7,913

My Rating

Movie Info

An amoral young man wends his way into the lives of a handful of damaged souls in this adaptation of British Beat Generation writer Alexander Trocchi's first novel. Written for the screen and directed by David Mackenzie, Young Adam begins with the discovery of a barely dressed woman's corpse by two barge workers, Joe (Ewan McGregor) and Leslie (Peter Mullan). A taciturn drifter, Joe hoists the body ashore with little distress, and the ensuing police investigation does little to ruffle his

Sep 14, 2004

$0.7M

Sony Pictures Classics

Cast

All Critics (126) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (45) | DVD (15)

Whether you're talking about Young Adam the movie or young Adam the character, neither is very likable.

June 10, 2004 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A brave film.

June 4, 2004 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | Comment
Sacramento Bee
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Young Adam haunts like a loyalty betrayed or a secret never revealed.

May 28, 2004 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
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The narrative, with its provocative flashbacks, is just interesting enough to propel the movie forward.

May 28, 2004 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
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A movie that seems to think it's more interesting than it really is.

May 28, 2004 Comment
Detroit News
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Mackenzie shoots the ensuing tryst with more fidelity than it deserves or needs.

May 28, 2004 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

nudity is perhaps the only intriguing element in this ponderous and torpid story about Joe (McGregor), a young drifter who takes work on a barge operated by a husband and wife (Peter Mullan and Tilda Swinton) after the mysterious death of his ex-girlfrien

May 5, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

... a sepia-toned dirge of a film, pointedly sluggish and crabbed

January 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Comment
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

I was much impressed with this superbly performed and tightly scripted noirish period drama.

September 16, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Watching at home at your own pace might increase the enjoyability of this often deliberate work.

September 9, 2004 Full Review | Comment
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

Where it's disturbing is in McGregor's challenging, defiant performance...

September 8, 2004 Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | Comment
Flick Filosopher

Don't be fooled by the R rating on the back cover of the DVD, Ewan McGregor's penis is still uncut.

August 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

The story's drab, attention-span-testing pace makes it tough to keep wondering what dark secrets shuffle beneath the surface.

July 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | Comment
Arizona Daily Star

A humorless and dank display of ashcan angst that leaves you wishing theater restrooms had shower facilities.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | Comment
Kansas City Star

A movie that delights in creating atmosphere at the expense of dialogue, and its effectiveness is testament to the genius of the performances.

June 25, 2004 Comment
Jam! Movies
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Young Adam

Make no mistake - this is an incredibly difficult watch. Grim, moody, and dry as a bleached bone, Young Adam feels enervated every step of the way. It's not exactly a picture of great rewards either; it's bursting with eroticism, but it seems mired in the personal miseries of its participants and the filming of the

September 7, 2010
ceWEBrity

Super Reviewer

young adam does aim highly but it fails silently in a quite mediocre way. okay, so it's about a young bargeman who discovers some dead woman's body by the barge with the elder bargeman who rents him the little room on the barge...then next thing is he's shagging the bargeman's wife then he follows his dick over every

July 7, 2010
groaningbitch
Veronique Kwak

Super Reviewer

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Latest News for Young Adam

August 27, 2007:
RT talks to Hallam Foe helmer David Mackenzie
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August 26, 2007:
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