Directing Style

Before talking about director Shawn Levy's intent for the movie, it is beneficial to mention his directing style and inspirations. Levy stated in an interview while talking about The Adam Project that "I love to create movies that refuse to be one thing. [Movies] that are a hybrid of heart, laughter, and spectacle." [4] That storytelling style is also evident in the other movies he directed such as Arrival, Free Guy, Real Steel, Night at the Museum (whole franchise), and all seasons of Stranger Things[2]. He designs his sci-fi movies in a way so that the technology creates rich and complex worlds to tell his stories in, rather than having the technology be the main focus of the movie. He also cites the Star Wars franchise as a major inspiration for all of his films [3].

Nature

One of Levy's intentions for The Adam Project was to present the ideal healthy relationship the world should have between nature and technology. This is accomplished visually and audibly throughout the course of the film. The Adam Project was shot in the beautiful mountains of Vancouver [5], and large portions of the film including action shots and plot locations are filmed with wide angles to include the wilderness in the surrounding areas. An example of the relationship between nature and technology can be seen in shots of the protagonist's house. Adam's father, Louis, was a theoretical physicist and inventor of the arc accelerator time-traveling device and his home included high-end smart house technology such as a smart fridge, smart stove, and also a virtual reality set to list a few. This is in contrast to the beautiful, thick wooded, forest outside their house. This foliage was on main display for the family and the viewer due to the large windows exposing the long half of the house to the wilderness. Another example would be later in the movie when Louis sees his son, Adam, playing games on his VR headset. Louis then says "I don't know if I should've built that game for him. Shouldn't he be outside, playing with the rest of the kids?" Louis says this in part because he knows about Adam's poor relationship with his peers, but also in saying this, he mentions the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle outside.

Other Works

Since The Adam Project is such a recent film, documentation and interviews detailing Levy's intentions are limited. It is helpful to research information about his past movies and style, and then see how those relate back to The Adam Project. Generally, his movies lie on the idealistic side of the spectrum [6] and his works typically offer a moment of catharsis/grand denouement at the end of the films. This generalization applies to The Adam Project as the viewer is gifted an emotional moment of relief at the end of the film after the Adams share with each other the reason why their individual perception of their parents is different than reality. An analysis of Levy's directing style is summed up nicely in [7] when it mentions Levy's style is to produce fun movies with a compelling story. Recall the direct line from Levy when he said "I love to create movies that refuse to be one thing" [4]. In the case of the Adam Project, the sci-fi time travel and technology building the universe is the fun part, while the family lessons and protagonist's emotions throughout time are the compelling story.

Sources

[1] Brandon Davis, The Adam Project Director Shares Major Inspirations For New Original Netflix Film (ComicBook, 3/10/2022) https://comicbook.com/movies/news/the-adam-project-inspiration-shawn-levy-director-interview/ (5/1/2022)

[2] Na, Shawn Levy (IMDb, Na) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506613/ (5/1/2022)

[3] Adrian Horton, The Adam Project review - Ryan Reynolds quips through thin Netflix sci-fi (The Guardian, 3/10/2022) https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/10/the-adam-project-review-ryan-reynolds-quips-through-thin-netflix-sci-fi (5/1/2022)

[4] Screen Rant Plus, Shawn Levy Interview: The Adam Project (YouTube, 3/11/2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2hUIveSEOU&t=343s&ab_channel=ScreenRantPlus (5/1/2022)

[5] Bob Kronbauer, We visited 10 of the Adam Project's Vancouver filming locations (Vancouver Is Awesome, 3/28/2022) https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-entertainment/vancouver-filming-locations-adam-project-netflix-5198210#:~:text=Warning%3A%20Spoilers%20included!&text=Vancouver%20actor%2Fproducer%20Ryan%20Reynolds,to%20our%20new%20TikTok%20account.

[6]Na, Creator / Shawn Levy ,(TVTropes, Na) https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ShawnLevy (5/2/2022)

[7] Sean Aversa, The Rise and Journey of Shawn Levy - Producer & Director of Enjoyable Cinema, (Hollywood Insider, 1/4/2022) https://www.hollywoodinsider.com/shawn-levy-journey/ (5/2/2022)