by: Karen Gilmore  (@ReelArtsy)

Mavis Gary is the kind of woman who drinks a 2-liter of soda with despair.

We see her in two different locations: "the big city" (in this case Minneapolis) and her small-town of Mercury, Minnesota. Everywhere she goes she leaves the room in disarray. Sometimes it's the bedspreads and sheets, other times she chucked people's emotions aside like an old T-shirt. She has the allure of a Midwestern tornado, beautiful and captivating from afar, but damaging up close. By the end of the film I realized just how special this role is. Charlize Theron's daringly "unlikable" performance is quite fearless, and because of it Young Adult offers a nuanced female character unlike any other in cinema.

As I sat down to review this film, lines like "textual chemistry" pop out and scenes where Theron's icy stares radiated an unusual depth came to mind. Mavis ranged from obscurely likable to utterly detestable to just plain sad. At every stage of her inner struggle, she remained entertaining. Her moments with Patton Oswalt's character offered glimpses of sincerity. The chats in his garage, the walks in the woods, the bedroom scene. I could give you a play-by-play of the film, even tell you how it ended (I won't) and still not spoil the film. Why? Because Young Adult's greatest achievement is its tone. And that's not something you can spell out, it's something you feel. Jason Reitman has skillfully crafted a filmmaking style that consistently strikes the cord between heartfelt and funny, a pitch that makes his movies unique, and moving.

We've seen the woman from a small town story before, but not like this.

Diablo Cody and Reitman have forged the type of creative camaraderie that makes places like Minnesota, and stories about unconventional characters a distinctive cinematic delight.