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When we first meet the tiny moppet Adam (Jules Delsart) he is lying in a hospital bed with a feeding tube down his nose. At his side is his mother Rebecca (Anamaria Vartolomei) and head nurse Lucy (L\u00e9a Drucker) who both have the boy\u2019s best interests at heart \u2013 right? The hospital staff aren\u2019t so sure. Despite Rebecca\u2019s insistence that Adam has some sort of stomach condition that makes a regular diet unfeasible, Adam is malnourished with brittle bones. Rebecca won\u2019t feed him a proper diet; if Rebecca isn\u2019t present, Adam won\u2019t eat at all. Lucy finds herself in an impossible position, trying to act within the best interests of her young patient while the hospital staff breathe down her neck and the single mother becomes increasingly desperate.<\/p>\n
The stark realism Wandel demonstrated in her harrowing debut\u00a0Playground\u00a0<\/em>is on show again, with plenty of handheld cameras tracking Lucy as she buzzes around the corridors of the hospital, treating not only Adam but her other young patients, many of whom are in equally perilous situations. Fans of HBO Max\u2019s 2025 medical drama\u00a0The Pitt\u00a0<\/em>might recognise the real-time anxiety of Lucy\u2019s shift, as she tries to provide care under incredible bureaucratic pressure and stretched resources within the healthcare system. L\u00e9a Drucker, a Cannes mainstay and dependably great screen presence, brings a sense of poise and competence to her role, even given the dire circumstances, while\u00a0Happening<\/em> breakout Anamaria Vartolomei is sympathetic as the mother kicking against a restrictive system.<\/p>\n Wandel avoids easy answers \u2013\u00a0Adam\u2019s Sake\u00a0<\/em>is decidedly withholding of the facts, never quite revealing if Rebecca is acting in her son\u2019s best interests or suffering from a psychological condition herself. This is a strength, as it demonstrates the nuance of her situation and indeed many real life cases for young at-risk children where there is no straightforward hero or villain. Yet its tight 76-minute runtime does leave us a little in the lurch \u2013 there\u2019s a sense that some vital piece of the puzzle here is missing, while Rebecca\u2019s fraught relationship with her ex (Adam\u2019s father) veers a little towards cultural clich\u00e9s about absent fathers.<\/p>\n Yet there\u2019s no questioning Wandel\u2019s candor, or her interest in approaching difficult subjects without dancing around them. As in\u00a0Playground, <\/em>she captures a remarkable performance from her young lead (here Jules Delsart) while speaking truth to power about the fundamental failings within the systems designed to protect the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n