TIFF Review: ‘Adulthood’ Stumbles Around With Its Various Tones

One of the things I’ve noticed of late is that films attempting to mix serious and silly tones are struggling a bit. Now, some movies ace it, of course, but more than not can’t seem to figure out the right balance. Adulthood is just one more example of this, really going to the extremes on both ends of the spectrum. Playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, the mixture just ends up leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

Adulthood wants to emulate the Coen Brothers in a lot of ways, which isn’t uncommon for this kind of work. Of course, it’s really hard to do what they do/did, so you’re left mostly noticing that the flick is trying to do it, as opposed to enjoying what it’s doing. Now, things never devolve completely, but there’s too many scenes that you just know should be a bit better.

Estranged siblings Meg (Kaya Scodelario) and Noah (Josh Gad) are brought into close proximity with each other once again when their mother has had a stroke. Hospital ridden and ailing, they’re back at their childhood home, going through all the stuff of theirs that had accumulated. It’s in the basement that they discover something shocking.

What they find behind the basement wall sets the rest of the plot in motion. They can’t ask their mother about it, nor their deceased father, so the onus on dealing with it falls upon them. The various bad decisions they make spiral out of control, involving their mother’s bitter nurse (Billie Lourd), their strange cousin (Anthony Carrigan), and more. Through it all, a sense of early mourning is woven, tinging the comedy and violence with melancholy.

Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario are actually very good here, nearly saving the day. Gad dials back nearly all of his occasionally annoying traits to turn in a nuanced performance that’s still rather funny. Scodelario gets the more dramatic role and aces it, really doing her part to try to invest you in her character’s plight. Anthony Carrigan is very weird, mostly for good, while Billie Lourd doesn’t get enough to do. Supporting players include Alessio Andrada, Nck Name, Leandro Vigueras, and others.

Director Alex Winter and writer Michael M.B. Galvin have big goals here with a comedy neo-noir. They clearly want to make this movie funny and shocking in equal measure. Unfortunately, they’re better at the humor than the noir of it all. Galvin’s direction doesn’t have the surprises it hopes for, so the occasional silliness stands out more. Winter’s direction is strong, he just never gets a handle on the tone of Adulthood. By trying to be everything, it winds up being closer to nothing.

Adulthood is a disappointment, sadly. The comedy is funny enough, the noir elements aren’t bad, and the individual pieces should fit together. However, aside from the acting, it all just feels off when connected. The end result is a film that will likely go no further than TIFF, where it barely made an impression in the first place.

SCORE: ★★1/2