Young Adult

Young Adult is the second collaboration between the creative team behind Juno, and it again displays both their strengths and their weaknesses. Jason Reitman’s sure hand with actors is evident once more, but so is his glib shallowness, while Diablo Cody’s screenplay blends sharp zingers with unconvincing plot developments and characterisation. Holding the film together – and elevating it beyond what it might have been – is a tremendous turn by Charlize Theron as Mavis, an author of teen fiction who returns to her home town with the aim of winning back her now-married high school boyfriend (Patrick Wilson). Theron never appeals for audience sympathy as this awesomely self-absorbed character, delivering a performance rich in telling observations and flawless comic timing. Unfortunately, having such a vivid protagonist at the centre of the film only shows up the thinness of the movie around her, and despite Patton Oswalt’s good-natured supporting turn, Young Adult ends up feeling purposeless and underdeveloped, finally going off the rails in its climactic scenes. [Philip Concannon]