I Am the Cheese
(1983) color 100/96 minutes
With: Robert MacNaughton (Adam/Paul), Hope Lange (Elizabeth/Louise), Don Murray (David/Anthony), Robert Wagner (Dr. Brint)
Plot Outline (IMDb): Adapted from the Robert Cormier novel. This film follows the life of a young boy whose happy, if somewhat unusual life with his friends and family gradually starts to unravel, until the truth of the boy's situation is finally revealed
***
I AM THE CHEESE is a depressing and confusing tale of an adolescent's journey to (literally) find himself. This most ambiguous film asks hard questions as it weaves its convoluted story of pained teen Adam Farmer and his quest for the mystery of life: is our past our own, free to reconstruct at will? Is the random recall of memory real, or a mosaic of fictional constructs? Is your mental storehouse an enigmatic string of meaningless events or pieces in a profound puzzle? In short, "Who the hell am I?"
Adam takes a mysterious highway journey on a bike, a perfect metaphor for the sheer naked vulnerability of the individual traveling through his own fragile mindscape. Adam always looks on the verge of tears as he confronts the paranoid fear that he is not his parent's kid.
Sessions in therapy unlock door after door, yet the more that is revealed, the more questions arise. After some harrowing persecution by redneck bullies, Adam has a breakthrough and regains a livable measure of psychic balance.
Meanwhile, we the unfortunate audience are told that poor Adam has been the unwitting victim of a life-long, vast conspiracy. Not an easy film to watch, and not wholly rewarding to the plot-addicted, yet fascinating and frustrating in turns for those brave enough to endure a classic depiction of alienation confronted and (somewhat) resolved.
Video/DVD availability: VHS (Vestron, oop)
Almi Pictures
Story: Robert Cormier (from his novel)
Screenplay: Robert Jiras, David Lange
Music: Jonathan Tunick
Produced by David Lange
Directed by Robert Jiras