drqshadow

5/10

Part two of the Up series, which loyally follows the formula established in 1964's Seven Up despite a change in the director's chair. By now the children of seven years prior have grown into adolescence, with all of their internal turmoil and social anxiety worn right out in the open; painfully obvious to the viewer if not the subject. The interviews feel less clinical this time around, as they generally take place in more comfortable, revealing personal settings (a living room or front lawn, in most cases) but the teens are far less cooperative and forthcoming. With just one or two exceptions, wringing a colorful response out of these kids is like pulling teeth, as they each struggle with quiet, navel-gazing uncertainty and a flood of wishy-washy almost-answers. That makes for some rather dry viewing (and several nearly-incomprehensible replies) but also serves as a very vivid, relatable throwback to the crippling difficulties common in this stage of the human metamorphosis. Nobody seems prepared to have reached the crossroads of life, except perhaps John (vocal and surprisingly adept at politics in his early teens) and Bruce (who bears an old soul). But maybe they just do a better job of hiding it than the others.