Joe, a failed writer, takes up a job working on a barge on the Clyde. The job provides young Joe with every opportunity and experience an educated and aspiring existentialist might need to develop. Flashbacks reveal that Joe has set himself in such a mould, a special man, far above the bland observations of a mere novelist. However, as the story unfolds the shallowness of his position becomes more and more clear. The death of Joe's ex-girlfriend, though accidental, is also cynically convenient and her death provides the turning point through which the film explores the mind of Joe and the superficiality of his life. The story is engrossing, Joe, our "Young Adam" happy to partake of the fruits of the garden of Eden, but devoid of wisdom - the knowledge of good and evil, Joe's perception of himself and the glory of this young Adam is nothing but a sham.
Review of Young Adam
