by MATTHEW HAYS

Though Ewan McGregor has ascended to international superstar status, due primarily to his Star Wars gig, the talented actor has thankfully never left behind smaller film projects. His latest, Young Adam, is one of those - devoid of any special effects, it's a terrifically moving and disturbing story in which the Brit actor is really able to show off his acting chops.

Based on the Alexander Trocchi novel, the film has McGregor playing a rather wayward and entirely bored young man, who works on a barge owned by Tilda Swinton and run by her husband (Peter Mullan). In the film's opening scene, McGregor and Mullan make a gruesome discovery, finding the naked corpse of a beautiful woman in the water near where they're working. This sad and horrifying image sets the tone for the entire film. McGregor becomes sullen after they discover the body, and his response speaks volumes about his own connection to the dead woman.

Flashbacks begin to reveal McGregor's tortured relationship to the dead lass; meanwhile, he's carrying on an elicit affair with Swinton, shagging her relentlessly behind Mullan's back. McGregor plays amoral extremely well, breathing life into a character that could so easily have descended into caricature. (And yes, for the umpteenth time the actor goes the full Monty.) Instead, we get a vision of selfishness, a man who sees only his own needs (and libido) despite their very great costs to others.

Directed by David Mackenzie, Young Adam is one of those brooding atmospheric pieces, the kind that remind us just how miserable the Brits can be (especially the ones who had to live through the '50s). McGregor's grim existence is given a suspenseful twist when he learns that an innocent man has gone on trial for the murder of the drowned woman, when McGregor knows full well this man had nothing to do with her death. The outcome of the trial lends the movie another layer of intrigue - a haunting film, this, one that makes your skin crawl as you marvel at all that top-notch Brit thesp talent.

Young Adam opens Friday, June 4 at the Cinéma du Parc

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