Adam the First
February 15th, 2024
MOVIE: ADAM THE FIRST
STARRING: OAKES FEGLEY, DAVID DUCHOVNY, T.R. KNIGHT, LARRY PINE
DIRECTED BY: IRVING FRANCO
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
I’ve recently been finding a great appreciation for films about the relationships between a father and his son. Adam the First is all about the relationships someone can have with their father. It doesn’t have to be a biological father, but could be a surrogate, step-father, uncle, friend, or just a person that you have as a mentor. Either way, those fatherly bonds are important. I never had a father nor much of a father figure growing up. I had my football coaches but I wish I had someone guide me through all the tough roads in life and instead, I find myself hoping to be the father for my son that I never had. Adam the First is about a young man going on the road in search of his real father and what he discovers along the way are life lessons that we all hope to get.
Adam (Oakes Fegley) is a 14-year-old, living in a tight mobile home in the backwoods of Mississippi, along with his “father” James (David Duchovny) and his girlfriend Mary (Kim Jackson Davis). The opening scene involves the father and son sitting around a campfire and James letting his son know that he is not his biological father. When a raid takes place on the home, just before his demise, James gives Adam three names and addresses. Each name is Jacob Watterson, but the question remains, which one of them is Adam’s actual father? This sets in motion a journey to self-discovery, a coming-of-age story, where learning who we are becomes a matter of life.
The vision is from writer/director Irving Franco, who maps the journey similar to a story such as the Iliad or a biblical tale similar to Noah or the prodigal son. It plays out with three acts and an epilogue, each moment a new potential father that Adam meets, and each a new kind of experience. Jacob #1 (Eric Hanson) is currently serving time for murder in prison. Adam speaks to him, with thick glass between the two of them, and learns about a man and his past mistakes. Jacob #2 (Jason Dowies) is a father of three girls, a farmer, and living by a very devout Christian belief. The third Jacob (played strongly by Larry Pine) inches closer to being his actual father but telling you which one he is related to would ruin the process of discovery. Each new Jacob has lived a different code, had a different upbringing that made them the man they are, and created great mystery into the man that Adam has become.
What makes Adam the First work is a road trip approach. In between each potential father are the people we meet on the road. Adam hitchhikes after the prison, hoping to get to his next destination, and he meets a variety of people who have walked many miles in different shoes. As the journey for Adam becomes a mixture of survival and searching, we forgive him for his sins because of the cards he was dealt and wrestle with our judgments of those we meet. The performance from Duchovny sets the tone, the work by Oakes Fegley carries the weight, and the performance from Larry Pine speaks to us with the honesty of life’s experiences.
The direction from Franco on Adam the First is a unique and introspective independent approach. The pacing may not always be perfect and the ending feels a bit abrupt, but it’s not without authenticity, and great thought. It becomes reminiscent of a John Steinbeck novel, a Coen brothers film, or a poem by Robert Frost. Adam the First is an incredibly universal story. It digs deep into the themes of growing up, the fathers that raise us, and what it means to be a good man. These types of stories linger long in our hearts.
ADAM THE FIRST IS PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16TH, 2024.
3 STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
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