Showing @ Cineworld, Edinburgh, Thu 20 & Fri 21 Jun

Kyle Patrick Alvarez / USA / 2013 / 87 mins

American humourist David Sedaris may now rightly be regarded as a national treasure, but if this autobiographical adaptation is anything to go by, the path that led him to such hallowed heights has been far from straightforward.

Jonathan Groff plays the patronising and rather naive young David who decides, after a falling out with his family, to travel West and work as a labourer. But everything from his preppy Yale letterman sweater to his lunch break conversation exposes David as hopelessly out of place in his adopted world. As can be expected, there is a serious learning curve for our protagonist and nothing goes quite according to plan.

This then, is a coming of age tale – or more accurately, a “coming of maturity” one. David’s wisdom is painfully won and his forays into his spiritual and sexual life are both significant and traumatic. For a film dealing with such emotive subjects and the back story of such a strong character, this is a surprisingly understated little tale. It has been left largely to viewers to fill in many of the blanks, from the root of David’s family estrangement to details of his sexuality. This light touch elevates C.O.G. from a simple vignette of Sedaris’ early life to a far more thought-provoking film.

Showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013