It might seem strange to point to a low-budget adult coming-of-age dramedy from 14 years ago that grossed just $16 million domestically and holds a 49% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as an example of what we need more of in films today, but Jason Reitman's Young Adult is exactly that. On the surface, Reitman's 2011 Charlize Theron-led filmresembles many of the direct-to-streaming movies that have been released in recent years. It is a contained, star-driven vehicle with a simple narrative, clearly defined stakes, and a 90-minute runtime. However, its willingness to break form and challenge audience expectations, which leads to its bold and evocative ending, separates it from its contemporary counterparts. By no means is it a perfect film, but when revisited today, its ending stands out as one of the best of the past 15 years—and serves as a somewhat unfortunate reminder that, while directors and screenwriters once had more freedom to take risks, so many films now feel like they are explicitly designed to follow a formula.
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