When Adam Changes

Teenagers are impressionable, but Adam more than most. When he goes to visit his grandmother in the hospital for a final goodbye, she croaks her final words, a comment about his “long torso”, causing his torso to literally extend. It’s been this way all Adam’s life, whenever his body is mocked, it distorts to reflect the callous comments of relatives and the targeted vitriol of fellow teens. His physical transformations are in some ways the least of his worries as he tries to navigate teenage life in late 90s Quebec complete with an impossible crush, pool parties, summer jobs, and a bit of existential dread. In his feature debut, director Joël Vaudreuil crafts a heartfelt portrait of teenage life, as incisive of its cruelties as it is rich in wildly creative absurd visual humor. Loaded with the weight of hindsight, it’s a reflection that never fails to be as funny as it is ultimately sincere.