Adult Life Skills
dir. Rachel Tunnard · 2016
Anna spends her days in a garden shed, crafting thumb puppet videos that explore the absurdities of life while grappling with the profound loss of her twin brother. Watching her navigate the awkwardness of adult relationships and the pressure to move on is both humorous and heart-wrenching, as the film balances whimsy with the weight of melancholy.
Anna is stuck: she's approaching 30 and living like a hermit in her mum's garden shed, avoiding fully living her life due to the fact that she is crippled by the loss of her twin brother. She spends her days making videos using her thumbs as actors - thumbs that bicker about things like whether Yogi Bear is a moral or existential nihilist. A week before her birthday her Mum serves her an ultimatum - she needs to move out of the shed, and move on with her life. However, when her school friend comes to visit, Anna's self-imposed isolation becomes impossible to maintain. Soon she is entangled with a troubled eight year old boy obsessed with Westerns, and the local estate agent whose awkward interpersonal skills continually undermine his attempts to seduce her.
Talking points
- the impact of loss on personal identity
- the role of humor in coping with grief
- the significance of unconventional friendships
- the portrayal of mental health in indie cinema
