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Young Adam - Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Emily Mortimer, David Mackenzie

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Accident? Suicide? Murder?

A hauntingly faithful adaptation of the novel by the Scottish Beat writer Alexander Trocchi, Young Adam is a moody, sensual thriller set on the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh during the 1950s.

Ewan McGregor stars as Joe, a young drifter who finds work on a barge owned by sexually repressed couple Les Gault (Peter Mullen) and Ella (Tilda Swinton). One afternoon Joe and Les happen upon the corpse of a young woman floating in the water, and the questions begin: Did Joe know the woman? Was her death an accident? Suicide? Murder?

As the police investigate and a suspect is arrested, it becomes evident that Joe knows more than he's letting on. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the "murder" investigation, Joe and Ella embark on an intimate and passionate affair.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film UK drama beat 1950s death crime barge sex murder

Persons of interest

Ewan McGregor .... Joe Taylor
Tilda Swinton .... Ella Gault
Peter Mullan .... Les Gault
Emily Mortimer .... Cathie Dimly
Jack McElhone .... Jim Gault
Therese Bradley .... Gwen
Ewan Stewart .... Daniel Gordon
Stuart McQuarrie .... Bill
Pauline Turner .... Connie
Alan Cooke .... Bob M'bussi
Rory McCann .... Sam
Alexander Trocchi .... Author
David Mackenzie .... Screenwriter
David Mackenzie .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Young Adam official movie site
Young Adam production notes
Young Adam QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

British Independent Film Awards 2003: Nominated: British Independent Film Award Best Actor (Ewan McGregor), Best Actress (Tilda Swinton), Best British Independent Film, Best Director (David MacKenzie)
Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2005: Nominated: Best actor - Non-human (The barge)
Directors Guild of Great Britain 2004: Nominated: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in British Film (David MacKenzie)
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2003: Won: Best New British Feature (David Mackenzie)
Empire Awards, UK 2004: Nominated: Empire Award Best British Actor (Ewan McGregor), Best British Actress (Emily Mortimer), Best British Film
European Film Awards 2003: Nominated: European Discovery of the Year (David Mackenzie)
London Critics Circle Film Awards 2004: Won: ALFS Award British Newcomer of the Year (David Mackenzie)

See also Intimate relations
Studios and distributors:

AV Channel * Madman Cinema

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Young Adam - and I still haven't figured out why it's called that - is a "sensual thriller" in that you never know whether the killer will be caught and there's lots of rooting. You also get to see Ewan McGregor's penis (flaccid), Tilda Swinton's breasts and Emily Mortimer's snatch. It's also pretty scary because for the first half hour I thought it was set in the present. Working class Scotland is a horror in the 1950s and hasn't changed much in the new millennium (see My name is Joe).

And they all drink endless cups of tea. I don't know what the British would do without it. And they're pasty. There's not a tan-line amongst them.