Adult Life Skills

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.

In classic indie style, this is a gentle but fairly stylised portrayal of bereavement, survivor's guilt and moving on. For something billed as a comedy it didn't make me laugh much, but it did engage me enough that I sobbed throughout the closing credits, so it clearly did something right. A promising debut from director/writer/editor Rachel Tunnard.

Hannah, after losing her twin brother 18 months ago, has moved into her mother's shed and has stubbornly refused to move on. She and her brother were very creative together and she continues her creative efforts by making videos of thumb puppets traveling in space which earns her constant criticism from her mother, who has taken a tough love approach to forcing Hannah to move on by forcing her to vacate the shed by her 30th birthday.

Hannah's mother, grandmother, suitor, and girlfriend are all delightfully quirky. If you like quirky, this movie is for you. These characters are not one dimensional, but all have strengths and flaws that are shown to us by a very gifted writer/director.

One explosion, no car chases, and no gratuitous violence make this a movie that does not waste ones time with formulaic nonsense for the brain dead. Instead it illustrates through actions the panic and struggle of letting go a loss so great that one thinks her life will never be the same, that it's impossible to move on. And the film illustrates the jolts of losing the precious things, one at a time, that keep her isolated and bound to her dead twin.

Yet there is nothing morbid or overly dramatic in this presentation. The film is full of humor. Hannah must look after a young boy whose mother is dying, knowing what he will face. Yet he's a young cowboy and his own quirkiness mirrors Hannah's, as does his journey. Hannah is pursued awkwardly by Brandon, a somewhat shy individual who manages to approach her at the worst times, like when she's peeing behind a boat. And her dead twin appears to her in snorkeling gear which may be a clue to his death, or just his sense of humor.

There's not a surprise ending to spoil. This movie is about the journey and not the outcome and like all good films, it's made up of moments which are captivating to watch and feel as well as some good laughs along the way. I highly recommend it.

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.

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.