History Film / AdultLifeSkills

* MyBelovedSmother: As much as Marion wants Anna to find her own place to live, she also acts in classic oveprotective mother ways: trying to set Anna up with a skeevy hairdresser and later with Brendan, choosing apartments for Anna to look at, interrupting Anna's filmmaking via a baby monitor. At one point she even tries to give Anna's face a SpitShine, to Anna's absolute disgust.

-->'''Thumb #2''': You need to lighten up. You need to stop listening to depressing hippie music. Start listening to Whitesnake.

-->'''Thumb #2''' (singing): Here I go again on my ownnnn! [[spoiler: On Anna and Billy's birthday, the party scenes are intercut with her film of the spaceship crashing into the sun and one of them bravely going forth into space as Whitesnake plays.]]

* StoicWoobie: Clint maintains a sullen, sober demeanor throughout, even when [[spoiler: his mum passes.]]

* {{Cowboy}}: Clint is always attired in cowboy gear: hat, vest, sheriff badge. He even sleeps in his hat and won't take it off to put on a helmet so he can go boating. Jean makes him a leather pouch to hold, among other things, his toy gun. [[Creator/ClintEastwood And then of course there's his name.]] When Anna first meets him, it's the hat she notices first because it reminds her of one she found among Billy's things; he tells her he's going to be a cowboy like his daddy, who works in construction demolitions. And when Clint settles into his own shed, Anna finds he's put up pictures of cowboys on their horses.

* DisappearedDad: Played straight for Anna, whose father isn't mentioned at all and may have passed away. Subverted for Clint; his father isn't around for most of the film's events, but it's only because his job often keeps him away from home. At the end, he returns to take care of his son.

* CryIntoChest: Marion sobs in Jean's arms when Clint goes missing and Anna, who has gone to look for him, seems to have deserted the shed (possibly giving the impression that she has herself run off).

* MemorialPhoto: There are photos of Billy on the wall of the shed, and one of Anna and Billy together on the kitchen wall. When Anna discovers Clint's own shed, she finds that among his cowboy pictures he has put up a photo of himself with his mum.

* ShrunkInTheWash: Billy's sweater suffers this fate. Marion accordingly gives it to Clint.
* StoicWoobie: Clint maintains a sullen, sober demeanor throughout, even when his mum passes.
* TalkingToTheDead: Anna has several conversations with Billy, whom she pictures wearing snorkeling gear. Her films involving her thumbs may also be a substitute for this, since one thumb is usually trying to reassure the other's existential fears.
* TitleDrop: Brendan suggests to Anna that they should give out merit badges for learning adult life skills, such as "changing a car tire, sewing, sending something back at a restaurant, knitting." At the end, he presents Anna with a homemade version of such a badge.

* MistkenForGay: In spite of Brendan's obvious interest in Anna, he falls victim to this. He asks whether it's because he has a high voice and wore pink shorts once. (He also apparently likes the Spice Girls.)

* OopNorth: The film is set in Yorkshire, and Tunnard herself hails from that area, as does Whittaker.

* TheGadfly: Fiona, but she's the good-natured sort. As much as she enjoys messing with Anna and Brendan, she genuinely is trying to get Anna to smile. Later, she works at [[ShipperOnDeck setting Anna and Brendan up]].

* MemorialPhoto: There are photos of Billy on the wall of the shed, and one of Anna and Billy together on the kitchen wall. When Anna discovers Clint's own shed, she finds that he has put up a photo of himself with his mum.
* MicrowaveMisuse: Running late for work, Anna finds her bras still wet in the washer/dryer. She shoves them into the microwave to expedite the process, but the underwire in them begins sparking. When asked what happened to the microwave, Anna feigns ignorance.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I think we should get badges for adult life skills: changing a car tire, sewing, sending something back at a restaurant, knitting."'']]

-->--Clint

In the eighteen months since her twin brother’s death, 29-year-old Anna (Whittaker) has largely shut herself off from the rest of the world; she has been living in her mother’s garden shed and mostly spending her time making short films in which her thumbs (with drawn-on smiley faces) are the actors. Anna’s 30th birthday is looming and her mother, Marion, gives her an ultimatum: she must move out before then. Anna staunchly refuses and immerses herself in keepsakes of her brother. She starts wearing his old sweater and constantly logs onto his website to rewatch funny films they made together.

''Adult Life Skills'' premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Nora Ephron Prize for Best Female Director. Tunnard also won the BIFA for Best Debut Screenwriter, and Goldstein won for Best Supporting Actor.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

->''"I think we should get badges for adult life skills: changing a car tire, sewing, sending something back at a restaurant, knitting."''

Writer-director Rachel Tunnard’s film adaptation of her BAFTA-nominated comedy/drama short ''Emotional Fusebox,'' ''Adult Life Skills'' (2016) features a pre-''Series/DoctorWho'' Creator/JodieWhittaker and a pre-''Series/TedLasso'' Creator/BrettGoldstein.

In the eighteen months since her twin brother’s death, 29-year-old Anna (Whittaker) has largely shut herself off from the rest of the world; she has been living in her mother’s garden shed and mostly spending her time making short films in which her thumbs (with drawn-on smiley faces) are the actors. Anna’s 30th birthday is looming and her mother, Marion, wants her to move out of the shed, clean herself up, and stop moping all the time, preferably in the interest of finding a man. Anna staunchly refuses and immerses herself in keepsakes of her brother. She starts wearing his old sweater and constantly logs onto his website to rewatch funny films they made together.

Her self-imposed exile is interrupted when she’s forced to look after the seven-year-old boy next door, Clint, whose mother is in the end stages of a fatal illness. As Marion tries all the harder to make Anna grow up and Clint imprints on Anna’s personality and way of handling grief, Anna herself is confronted with visions of her deceased twin and conflicting feelings toward her childhood friend Brendan (Goldstein).

Adult Life Skills premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Nora Ephron Prize for Best Female Director.

* BerserkButton: Having the shed seemingly broken into and her films seemingly stolen sends Anna into a tailspin. Ultimately she lashes out at Fiona and at Clint, causing him to run away.
** For Marion, the sight of Anna having thrown her clothes into the garden and pitched a tent. Fed up with what she sees as Anna's ExcessiveMourning, Marion grabs the garden shears and slashes her way into the tent amid Anna's (and everyone's) protests.
* BrokenBird: Anna seems to be this for much of the film.

* MicrowaveMisuse: Running late for work, Anna finds her bras still wet in the washer/dryer. She stuffs them into the microwave to expedite the process, but of course the underwire in them begins sparking. When asked what happened to the microwave, Anna feigns ignorance.
* MyBelovedSmother: As much as Marion wants Anna to find her own place to live, she also overreaches in classic oveprotective mother ways: trying to set Anna up with a skeevy hairdresser and later with Brendan, choosing apartments for Anna to look at, interrupting Anna's filmmaking via a baby monitor. At one point she even tries to give Anna's face a SpitShine, to Anna's absolute disgust.
* ParentalSubstitute: Osensibly Anna is supposed to be this for Clint, but she winds up being more of a reluctant role model for him, and he winds up being more of a twin substitute for her.

* TitleDrop: Brendan suggests to Anna that they should give out merit badges for learning adult life skills, such as "changing a car tire, sewing, sending something back at a restaurant, knitting."

* ParentalSubstitute: Osensibly Anna is supposed to be this for Clint, but she winds up being something of a role model for him and he winds up being something of a twin substitute for her.

* MyBelovedSmother: As much as Marion wants Anna to find her own place to live, she also overreaches in classic oveprotective mother ways: trying to set Anna up with a skeevy hairdresser and later with Brendan, choosing apartments for Anna to look at, interrupting Anna's filmmaking via a baby monitor. At one point she even tries to give Anna's face a SpitShine, to Anna's absolute disgust.

Writer-director Rachel Tunnard’s film adaptation of her BAFTA-nominated comedy/drama short Emotional Fusebox, Adult Life Skills (2016) features a pre-''Series/DoctorWho'' Creator/JodieWhittaker and a pre-''Series/TedLasso'' Creator/BrettGoldstein.

Writer-director Rachel Tunnard’s film adaptation of her BAFTA-nominated comedy/drama short Emotional Fusebox, Adult Life Skills (2016) features a pre-Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker and a pre-Ted Lasso Brett Goldstein.

In the eighteen months since her twin brother’s death, 29-year-old Anna (Whittaker) has largely shut herself off from the rest of the world; she has been living in her mother’s garden shed and mostly spending her time making short films in which her thumbs (with drawn-on smiley faces) are the actors. Anna’s 30th birthday is looming and her mother, Marion, wants her to move out of the shed, clean herself up, and stop moping all the time, preferably in the interest of finding a man. Anna staunchly refuses and, as her birthday nears, immerses herself in keepsakes of her brother. She starts wearing his old sweater and constantly logs onto his website to rewatch funny films they made together.

Her self-imposed exile comes to an end when she’s forced to look after the seven-year-old boy next door, Clint, whose mother is in the end stages of a fatal illness. As Marion tries all the harder to make Anna grow up and Clint imprints on Anna’s personality and way of handling grief, Anna herself is confronted with visions of her deceased twin and conflicting feelings toward her childhood friend Brendan (Goldstein).

* MicrowaveMisuse: Running late for work, Anna finds her bras still wet in the washer/dryer. She stuffs them into the microwave to expedite the process, but of course the underwire in them begins sparking. When asked what happened to the microwave, Anna feigns ignorance.

Adult Life Skills premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Nora Ephron Prize for Best Female Director.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]