Adult Life Skills

A wonderfully emotive story that shows grief and humour can inhabit the same space and not only make sense but can be the perfect pairing. I found myself invested very early on thanks to Jodie Whittaker's particular portrayal of her character. There were at least three times when the expression on her face alone conveyed so much without words, that my eyes filled up. And then there'd be a segue into something that made me chuckle and force the tears to roll down my cheeks. Ozzy did a fabulous job as well, I can't imagine it was an easy ask for either of those leads to pitch it just right, but imho they nailed it. I really enjoyed the importance given to the soundtrack too.

I picked this up at the library because I only knew Jodie Whittaker from Doctor Who, and I wanted to see her in another context. This film is touching and funny, and I like it. The only problem I had was understanding the dialogue. I watch British television shows and movies frequently, like 2 or 3 per week, and usually have no problem with the various regional accents. These people I had much difficulty understanding. I'm thankful that I was watching it on disc, and could run it back to repeat; I did that with about 1/4 of the dialogue. Of course this had to be one of the few DVDs which does not have subtitles available. It needs them.

Started off kinda meekly, I was quickly losing interest when I thought I was about to waste my time on yet another childish portrayal of a delayed adulthood, shoulders stubbornly stuck in the vaginal walls of a happier past, a past that made sense -- whereas renting an apartment, paying bills etc, obviously doesn't.

Well. I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong. Wruh-uh-ong. This is a great little movie -- funny, lighthearted, and still, the dramatic elements are so strong and wonderfully structured, proving entirely capable of planting a lump in your throat the size of a goddamned walnut.

Nothing more to say. Watch this. It's good.

I can think of 2 fun comedies that involve characters who live in a shed: "Almost Sharkproof" (2014) and this one "Adult Life Skills". Well then there's also Silence of the Lambs but that's something uh different.

As you might guess from the premise, "Adult Life Skills" is about a 30 year old woman who doesn't know what to do with her life. Socially and emotionally stunted for reasons you will learn early in the flick, "Anna" (Jodie Whitaker) is an overgrown adolescent who spends her days talking to her thumbs and who can't manage to put on a bra without severely embarrassing herself. With her 30th birthday looming, her mom gives her an ultimatum which is basically the entire plot of the film: move out of the shed. Get a life. And she has about 1 week to do it.

What we get is a cute, quirky, at times tragic, at times magical story about her reluctant attempted transformation into an adult. The film is very minimal, consisting of a shed, the bottom floor of a house, a childrens camp where she works, and the landscape of a tiny rural town where nothing seems to happen except that people occasionally die off. The whole production is marvelously carried by a witty script and some rapid fire banter in funny accents (I dunno, are they "accents"? Being from America I figure everything outside of Connecticut is an accent). The film's narrow scope works tremendously to its advantage as we are forced to scrutinize small details of everyday life rather than epic dramas of wars and romance. Although there are tragic themes, it's handled off camera so we see only how it affects the characters in an unspoken way. And although there is a slight romance angle here, it's done in a hilariously awkward way (the snogging scene had me in stitches).

There aren't too many films like this, but I might compare it to the excellent 2017 indie film "Izzy Gets the F* Across Town" which is entirely about a young woman trying to ...get the f* across town. Here we have a story that could've had the alternate title "Anna Moves the F* Out Of Her Shed". You've probably never seen a movie quite like this, so don't miss it.

I actually prefered the BFI short "Emotional Fusebox", but still a good film. I felt as if the humour in the script a little forced at time, as Jodie portrays her character very nicely without these somewhat clumsy gags and distracts a bit from Anna's rather delightfully serene and creative coping mechanisms.