Young Adam
David Mackenzie / GB, FR, 2003 / 98 min.
Dark, tense drama featuring Ewan McGregor as an enigmatic, stoic drifter helping out on a coal transporter, floating around in the world full of moral hypocrisy that was 1950’s Glasgow. His fierce, sexual affair with Ella (Tilda Swinton) has fatal consequences.
Ewan McGregor in a fishing smock and with a roll-up cigarette, plays the down-at-heel author Joe who becomes a helper on a small boat plying the Glasgow to Edinburgh coal route. He and his boss (Peter Mullan) find the body of a woman in the River Clyde, however, more important by far than this thriller component, are the questions elicited by Joe’s stoic attitude: is he immoral, amoral or does he represent humanity, that is akin to the narcissistic Joe/Adam who hurts others without realising?
Pre-film
Before Young Adam, you will see the American short film Removing Sunken Vessels (1912, 4’). Tilda Swinton hand-picked a short film, either from her rich oeuvre or from Eye’s collection, to precede all feature films.
This is part of
Details
Director
David Mackenzie
Production year
2003
Country
GB, FR
Original title
Young Adam
Length
98 min.
Language
English
Subtitles
NONE
Part of
Tilda Swinton
This autumn, Eye presents Tilda Swinton – Ongoing, an exclusive exhibition dedicated to the celebrated Scottish performer, artist, and fashion icon. This unique and personal exhibition centres on Swinton’s creative collaborations.
Why in Eye
David Mackenzie’s first film. Alexander Trocchi’s Scottish Beat novel. Ewan McGregor’s alienated drifter and the life of barge owners in the slipstream life on the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh in the fifties. Eat your potato.
Tilda Swinton
Actor and Performer
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