Young Adult (2011)

I loved that in the opening scene I recognized the city based on the bridges in the background. It made me feel nostalgic for Minneapolis. And then the talking starts and Mayvis kind of creeps me out - in a slow motion train wreck kind of way. You like her in spite of herself. Everyone else is so nice and straight forward. And she is a devious and deluded drunk.
Mayvis goes home to Mercury to try and hook up with her old high school beau. The problem, well not as far as she is concerned, is that Buddy is happily married and a new father. Somehow Mayvis ends up spending most of her time with Matt, the kid who had the locker next to hers in high school - the same kid who was brutally beaten for being gay, even though he wasn't really gay. Matt is the only one who knows what's going on and the only one who will tell her that she's full of shit.
Mayvis is home for three days before her mother tracks her down. During their lunch together she tells them that she has an alcohol problem and they laugh and tell her to be serious.
When Mayvis finally has her big breakdown at the naming party everyone finally comes clean that they knew something was going on with her, but that they were humoring her because they felt sorry for her.
Mavis turns to the only friend she has in Mercury, Matt. He is supportive, especially when it becomes clear that the way Mavis wants to deal with this is to sleep with him.
Talk about a depressing fucking movie. In earlier posts I had written how one should be dubious of DVD cases that proclaim films to be the funniest ever or calls someone a comic force to be reckoned with. They lie. The bigger and more grandiose the claim, the more opposite the truth is. Now, don't get me wrong, this is a good movie. Charlize Theron is absolutely convincing as Mavis, actually everyone is very good in this movie. But, it's not a goddamned comedy. Hmm, am I projecting too much of myself into the film? God, I hope not.
I am fascinated by movies that portray the lives of writers, whether they be fictional authors like this movie, or whether they portray real author. It's like getting a peek behind the curtain, because while the author in the film may be different from the writer of the screenplay, nobody knows writing as well as a writer. This film is especially delicious in this aspect because we get to hear what Mavis is writing and compare and contrast with how it resembles her life, but even more so we get a look at her interpretation of her life. Actually, if Castle had a little more about his process of writing the mystery novels (just to bring up another show along these lines that I adore), instead of the research and then the finished product. I know that writing can be boring to watch, but if it's handled like it was in this film, it can really add a lot to the film, giving some very unique insights into the characters.

Young Adult at IMDB