Adam & Paul: "I don't feel so good..."Adam & Paul is a 2004 Irish Comedy film directed by Lenny Abrahamson. The film is made by Element Pictures, with further funding from the Irish Film Board and RTE. From what I could gather online, the film took no more than €400,000 (£345,000) to make. The story of Adam & Paul is told within a day, and follows two drug addict friends, Adam and Paul, scamper their way through a day in their lives as they try to get their next dopamine fix, as they have various interactions with people throughout Dublin. The story centres around the themes of addiction as well as isolation, and with the use of the dark comedic tones, almost tries to bring it down to a more human level. What makes this film independent you may ask? Well, something I noticed about this film is how it is shot, almost documentary-like. It’s as if the director followed the two main actors scamper around Dublin while filming it, as many of the townsfolk take note of the camera (by looking into it), double taking and making slight human-like interactions. This reminded me a lot of Jean Luc Goddard’s ‘Breathless’, where the real life would look at the camera and make double takes. The film’s tone is quite depressing and dark, almost like the previous film I analysed ‘The Survivalist’, as we the audience don’t feel much hope for the main characters with their struggles and how they will overcome it. This type of film tone I noticed is quite present in Irish indie cinema, and what I also noticed is that the comedic elements (In my opinion are better in this) share a similar execution to that in my first blog, ‘Bad Day for the Cut’. The humour is dry and doesn’t give much impact, but in Adam & Paul it feels more realer and grittier, and with the delicate topic of substance abuse, it works surprisingly well. Another thing I noticed about Adam & Paul, is its very slow, lifelike pacing. This is another thing I noticed is omitted from mainstream cinema and is also quite heavily used in Irish Indie cinema. I imagine the director wanted to use slow, lifelike pacing to simulate to the audience what the main characters were going through. We see events in the film where they are asked a simple question, and moments go by on and on in which neither character answers, showing us the damaging effect of substance abuse. The acting from the main characters is only ever emulated by the other homeless and drug addict people around Dublin, showing us what they share with them. In summary, I really liked Adam & Paul. I am fascinated by the lack of progression from the main characters in their search for the next fix, and how they are outcasted by their peers for their destructive ways. I feel this film might put some people off, from it’s slow pacing as well as dry humour and subject manner, but I feel it does a really good job in tackling and presenting these ideas.
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October 2019
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