Adam & Paul
Dir: Lenny Abrahamson
2004
*****
When I was first introduced to the film Adam & Paul it was described as a 'Tragicomedy'. 'Tragicomedy' was a genre that I never really believed in with most examples suiting the title melodrama. Poetics comes close but generally covers the theme of good coming from bad, but I'm not sure that's a genre as such. Adam & Paul is the only film I can think of that can give 'Tragicomedy' proof of existence. There is no other way to describe it in fact. There is humor here where it doesn't belong, sometimes we laugh at the ridiculous and that is probably as close as I can describe my feeling when watching the film. The balance between comedy and tragedy isn't 50% though, as Adam & Paul is probably one of the most devastating films I've ever seen. Nothing is gratuitous though, everything is intentional but never is the audience taken advantage of. It's important not to look away, Lenny Abrahamson focuses our attentions on what matters and not just at what we're looking at but at ourselves as well. This he does perfectly. Lenny Abrahamson is terribly overlooked and has made some of the best films of the millennium so far, Adam & Paul being one of them in my opinion.