Movie

Young Adam

2003 · 93 min

A cold, damp, morally murky watch that keeps you at a distance while quietly tightening its grip.

Directed by: David Mackenzie
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan

Tagline: Everyone has a past. Everyone has a secret.
Overview: A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Stream in the UK

Amazon Prime Video
Icon Film Amazon Channel

More options Data from JustWatch

Directed by: David Mackenzie
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: guilt
obsession
betrayal
isolation
sexuality
Places: countryside
small town
home
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language strong
Violence mild
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	2
Horror	3
Humour	1
Realism	8
Romance	5
Tension	6
Darkness	8
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	8

Titles like Young Adam

Movie

Nymphomaniac

2013

A long, unflinching confession that is intellectually provocative and emotionally raw, demanding patience and tolerance for explicit, disturbing content.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and obsession · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
guilt
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 240 min

Details

NymphomaniacHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Asylum

2005

A slow, suffocating plunge into forbidden desire and mental unravelling, leaving a lingering chill.

Same director: David Mackenzie · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about obsession and betrayal · nonlinear

Also: Same director: David Mackenzie
Via: melancholic
tense
obsession
betrayal
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 99 min

Details

AsylumHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Brokeback Mountain

2005

A quietly devastating, slow-burning romance that immerses you in longing and loss against vast, lonely landscapes.

Melancholic, slow-burn · about betrayal and isolation · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
betrayal
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 134 min

Details

Brokeback MountainHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Mystic River

2003

A slow, heavy descent into grief and suspicion, where every scene tightens the knot of guilt and violence.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and betrayal

Via: bleak
melancholic
guilt
betrayal
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 138 min

Details

Mystic RiverHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Queen of Hearts

2019

A slow-burning, tense drama that feels like watching a car crash in slow motion, with a chilling and emotionally devastating atmosphere.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about guilt and obsession

Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
obsession
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 127 min

Details

Queen of HeartsHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Leave Her to Heaven

1945

Lush Technicolor beauty slowly curdles into suffocating dread as a charming romance turns quietly monstrous.

Melancholic, tense · about guilt and obsession · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 110 min

Details

Leave Her to HeavenHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Swimming Pool

1969

A sun-drenched, slow-burning study of jealousy and desire that tightens like a vice, leaving a lingering unease.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about guilt and obsession

Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
obsession
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 123 min

Details

The Swimming PoolHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Match Point

2005

A slow-burn psychological thriller that keeps you tense with moral ambiguity and the unsettling weight of luck and guilt.

Tense · about guilt and obsession

Via: tense
guilt
obsession
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 124 min

Details

Match PointHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Ju Dou

1990

A slow, visually rich tragedy that suffocates with repressed desire, cruelty, and inevitable doom.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about obsession and betrayal · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
obsession
betrayal
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 95 min

Details

Ju DouHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Honeymoon Killers

1970

A grim, matter-of-fact descent into obsession and murder, anchored by raw performances and a cold, unglamorous realism that lingers uncomfortably.

Bleak, melancholic · about obsession and betrayal · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
obsession
betrayal
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 108 min

Details

The Honeymoon KillersHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Double Suicide

1969

A somber, theatrical tragedy that unfolds with ritualistic precision, blending stark black-and-white imagery with a haunting sense of inevitable doom.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and obsession · nonlinear

Via: bleak
melancholic
guilt
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 105 min

Details

Double SuicideHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

May December

2023

An uncomfortable, absorbing drama that blurs performance and reality, making you squirm with quiet tension and moral unease.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about guilt and obsession · nonlinear

Via: melancholic
tense
guilt
obsession
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 117 min

Details

May DecemberHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Stream

Amazon Prime Video
Icon Film Amazon Channel

Free

Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
Plex
Amazon MX Player

Rent or buy

Apple TV Store
Amazon Video
Sky Store
YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, thriller, crime, romance
Directed by: David Mackenzie
Written by: David Mackenzie
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Emily Mortimer, Jack McElhone, Thérèse Bradley, Ewan Stewart, Stuart McQuarrie
Music: David Byrne
Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens
Runtime: 93 min
Country: United Kingdom, France
Languages: English

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

Young Adam

How it feels

More like this

Titles like Young Adam

Where to watch in the UK

Details