Young Adam is an atmospheric, sex-drenched drama set amid the waterways of post-war Scotland. Ewan McGregor is Joe, an enigmatic drifter who finds work on a barge, travelling the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh. He shares the cramped quarters with the barge's owners, a sexually frustrated married couple, Les (Peter Mullan, My Name is Joe, MIFF 1999) and Ella (Tilda Swinton, Orlando MIFF 1993), and their young son, Jim. One afternoon Joe and Les pull the corpse of a young naked woman from the river. As a police investigation begins, life on the confined barge becomes stifling; Joe and Ella embark on a torrid affair and it becomes apparent that Joe knew the dead woman at the centre of the police inquiry. Features a plaintive music score from Talking Heads' frontman, David Byrne.

'Taut and concise in its storytelling, the film is a gripping portrayal of the darker aspects of human behaviour' featuring consistently superb performances by the talented cast.' -The Hollywood Reporter

D/S David Mackenzie P Jeremy Thomas WS Hanway TD 35mm/Col/2002/93mins

David Mackenzie was born in Scotland, UK in 1966. Films: California Sunshine (1997, short), The Last Great Wilderness (2002).

With support from the British Council Australia