Adult Life Skills

First of all I am not a native speaker.

Well. I must say I have fallen in love with this movie. It's one of those beautifully crafted little gems that have heart and depth and just make you smile and also cry a little bit. Sure, there are other (more ambitious) movies out there tackling the same theme - going through life, losing and finding and coping and surviving and not being alone - but I just love the simplicity and kind of raw honesty of this one.

Anyway, to sum it up - characters are quirky and lovable, dialogues smart and funny and I can only recommend this movie if you are in a mood for something slow yet uplifting.

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.

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.

Excellent filming and acting. Quirky, definitely yes. Slow at times, but if you have a natural curiosity about why so much weirdness is going on, you will be rewarded. This is a journey with real humans struggling with the grief that pervades their lives. Immensely satisfying finish. The low ratings come from people who like formula films that keep them entertained with action, not dialogue. If like reading books or plays built on dialogue between characters instead of titillation with thrills and suspense, you will love this film.

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.