Introduction to Adulthood
The idea of skeletons in the family cabinet takes on a whole new meaning in the film Adulthood. Director Alex Winter mixes things up on the way to uncovering something scary lurking beneath the fake wood veneer of suburbia. For adult siblings Megan and Noah, it’s the discovery of a decomposing cadaver behind one of the basement walls of their childhood home that forces them to re-examine their seemingly conventional upbringing.
A Delicious Premise
The film’s premise is certainly intriguing, with a considerable promise of noir elements. For at least the first half of the film, the quirky mixture of increasingly serious and ironically observed social commentary holds together well before it starts to fall out of sync. The methodical Megan and her melodramatic brother Noah make a disturbing discovery in their musty basement, which sets off a chain of events that challenges everything they thought they knew about their family.
Uncovering the Truth
As Megan and Noah dig deeper, they uncover a dark secret from their past. The rotting body behind the basement wall is that of their former neighbor, Mrs. Metzger, who disappeared in the 1990s. The siblings start to suspect that their mother and late father may have been involved in her disappearance. Noah, an LA script writer, claims to know what’s best, but his plan to bury the body in the swamp doesn’t quite work out as intended.
Descent into Chaos
As the police start to close in, Megan and Noah’s situation becomes increasingly desperate. A conspirator appears, claiming that their mother confessed to killing Mrs. Metzger, and demands $10,000 to keep quiet. In a panic, Noah calls upon his strange cousin Bodie, who has a scary weapon collection. However, the more they try to dig themselves out of the nightmare, the deeper they become embroiled in a web of chaos and deceit.
Influences and Execution
Director Alex Winter cites influences such as Alfred Hitchcock, Dashiell Hammett, and Bong Joon-Ho in his artistic vision for the film. While the intention may have been to create a "noir lite" tone, the execution proves to be more challenging to sustain over time. The film’s dark and light balance starts to falter as Megan and Noah’s lives spiral out of control. The abrupt resolution at the end of the film feels more forced than organic.
Strong Performances
The cast, including Kaya Scodelario, Josh Gad, and Anthony Carrigan, delivers strong performances that keep the film somewhat appealing. Scodelario is convincing as a woman and mother who is already struggling to cope with a job and a diabetic child, and who starts to rationalize that the apple may not fall far from the tree when it comes to her mother’s actions. Gad plays a perfect man-child, who cannot help but realize that his life has turned into one of his unsuccessful scripts.
Visual Advantage
The production makes good use of its scenic locations in Ontario, Canada, particularly in a comprehensive sequence shot on the Skybridge, which holds the record as the longest pedestrian bridge in North America. If only the film could have made it to the other side, it would have been a more satisfying experience. Unfortunately, Adulthood suffers from an arrested development, failing to live up to its full potential.
