Young Adult (2011)

Feature Film | Drama | USA | English | 1h34m
Dir: Jason Reitman | Scr: Diablo Cody | Ph: Eric Steelberg | Prod: Diablo Cody, Lianne Halfon, Jason Reitman, & Russell Smith | Mus: Rolfe Kent | Ed: Dana E. Glauberman | PD: Kevin Thompson | AD: Michael Ahern | Snd: Perry Robertson, Scott Sanders, & Warren Shaw | Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Jill Eikenberry, Richard Bekins, Mary Beth Hurt

In Reitman’s diverting drama, a perma-drunk, emotionally troubled writer of young adult fiction returns to her small home town with the misguided intention of winning back her high school beau, who – not that it worries her – is now happily married with a new-born baby. The film is well enough crafted with some decent performances. However, the central narrative never really convinces, with the behaviour of the supporting characters often feeling just a little too passive for the situations in which they find themselves.