"Young Adult" at 10

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Where were you when you first saw—hell, even learned about—2011’s Young Adult? For me, it was at the Angelika, an arresting poster of a scowling Charlize Theron with the perfectly judged tagline:

“Everyone gets old. Not everyone grows up.”

Boy, if that ain’t the truth...

Young Adult opened nationwide on this day a full decade ago (!!!) to rather muted buzz but with a pedigree that couldn’t be denied: Conceived by the brilliant, Oscar-winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody (on the heels of her cult-masterwork, Jennifer’s Body), and helmed by Jason Reitman, following up his Oscar-nominated Up in the Air while re-teaming with Cody after their similarly lauded Juno, Young Adult managed to assemble an incredibly rich ensemble of under-sung or underrated character actors—yes, including those inhabiting the body (and careers) of movie stars (Theron and Patrick Wilson)...

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Lucas Hedges at 25. Where to next?

by Nathaniel R

A month ago we celebrated Tye Sheridan's 25th to crickets from readers. Today it's Lucas Hedges turn and he bears the notable distinction of being the youngest male actor working to have already been Oscar-nominated (Timothée Chalamet, also a December baby, is a full year older).

If an actor isn't yet famous the quarter century mark is a great time to start landing roles, honing their skills, and finding a breakthrough project. If the actor is already established, chances are they were already a teen or child star; They have easier access to offers but it's much trickier career navigation. There are already years of pop culture baggage, preconceptions, and expectations before they're even right / ready for the leading man parts that can make a career enduring. 

From our purely anecdotal evidence, Lucas Hedges has already been through several stage of film stardom...

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Almost There: Charlize Theron in "Young Adult"

by Cláudio Alves

Ten years ago, Young Adult arrived in theaters, signaling the second collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody. It was also the creative duo's first work alongside Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron. Polarizing to this day, the picture divided critics and audiences alike, even as it gained champions heading into awards season. Cody's work and Patton Oswald's supporting turn won many admirers, but Theron's acidic star turn proved to be the movie's biggest Oscar bid. While already blessed with much critical recognition for her dramatic efforts, the actress wasn't known for comedy. Her casting was, thus, a bit of an against-type choice and her success a surprise. 

In retrospect, it sounds silly that there were any doubters. A decade after its premiere, Young Adult shines bright as Charlize Theron's greatest achievement…

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Almost There: Maggie Smith in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

by Cláudio Alves

It's time to wish a happy anniversary to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. John Madden's unlikely box-office juggernaut was first screened ten years ago on the Sorrento Incontro Internazionale del Cinema. Truth be told, it's not a fantastic flick, adapting a Deborah Moggach novel into a toothless feel-good comedy that reeks of good intentions corroded by colonialist condescension. Where it triumphs, however, is in casting. Madden managed to gather a remarkable ensemble, made up of charismatic British thespians who could deliver great performances with their eyes closed and a hand tied behind their back: Judi Dench! Maggie Smith! Bill Nighy! Penelope Wilton! Tom Wilkinson! And more. 

Indeed, their collective work singlehandedly makes the movie into a middlebrow delight. From that collection of beloved British entertainers, Maggie Smith probably came closest to an Oscar nomination…

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25th Anniversary: "The Crucible"

by Nick Taylor

Happy belated Thanksgiving, TFE readers! In the spirit of American History, here’s a nice slice of cinema on one of the US’s many exemplary passages of telling on itself: the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s retelling of these events in The Crucible is so universally well known, but how much the 1996 film adaptation is part of that legacy? I first saw the film in my junior high English class (I’d already chewed through Miller’s play and Death of a Salesman before I was ever assigned them), and aside from a few indelible images of Joan Allen’s silent devastation at court or Daniel Day-Lewis’s artfully grimy self in prison, Nicholas Hytner’s rendition of The Crucible didn’t leave much of an impression. Where Shine presented an opportunity to check off a box I knew I wouldn’t check off without outside incentive, returning to The Crucible was a chance to find out once and for all how it holds up to the faded memories of a semi-interested high schooler.

Hytner’s adaptation opens by dramatizing the play’s unseen inciting incident, where one night a group of Salem’s daughters are caught dancing naked in the woods and are accused of performing witchcraft in the name of Satan...

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