Jason Reitman drawn to flawed, complex characters

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If you're a nasty, narcissistic piece of work, chances are director Jason Reitman will take a shine to you. The reason, the four-time Oscar nominee explains, is that "nice people are kind of boring." So when Diablo Cody's script for Young Adult crossed his desk, Reitman says, he was fascinated by the extremely flawed – some might say full-blown sociopath – Mavis Gary, who is played with ferocity by Charlize Theron. He says he knew he would be alienating fans of his more gently satiric films such as Up in the Air, and he warns that if anyone goes to see Young Adult expecting Juno, they had better hightail it out before the lights dim. The film opened on Friday.

What attracted you to this acerbic comedy?

I just really loved Mavis and felt I hadn't read that character before. Another biggie was the third act, which was just so brave. It features a character who did unlikeable things, instead of likeable things, and at the moment where a traditional film character would make a 180-degree turn to become a better person, Mavis doesn't. We think she must have learned something [from her reprehensible plan to steal back her high-school sweetheart, who is happily married with a new baby] but she doesn't change. I think that's very true to life.

The ending, where Mavis seems restored in her confident delusion, is subversive and disturbing, but you say you found her humanity. Can you explain that?

I look at Mavis and see a woman who is vulnerable, broken, and really wants to be loved, but just acts out in the wrong ways. I'm not a big believer in good and evil. I think sometimes we just act like children. I don't really care if I like Mavis. That's not my intention. The idea is to watch a character portrait – one that is going to make you squirm. There is something good and important about being uncomfortable at the movies. When we're comfortable, rarely do we think about where we're at in life. If a movie is going to have an emotional effect on somebody, it shouldn't be easy breezy. I'd rather watch someone in a movie who is complicated, has issues and makes mistakes. A pleasant person isn't going to be very interesting.

Toward the end of the film, Mavis has a spectacular meltdown in front of a crowd and her well-meaning parents. What role did mom and dad play in their daughter's brokenness?

They were so intent on their child being happy that they never really stepped in when things were wrong. There is a great moment where Mavis says, "I think I'm an alcoholic," and mom says, "Oh you silly." This one exchange opens up the entire childhood. You realize every time this girl brought up an issue, the mom didn't want there to be issues. I'm a dad now and I get that you just want your kids to be happy. There is a natural instinct to calm them down, and say everything's fine, instead of dealing with the problem at hand.

Does your high-school self still live in you somewhere?

Yeah, the insecure part of me. I'm very insecure and always have been. But I guess you don't become sensitive enough to become a filmmaker without that. If there's a character in the film I can relate to, it's probably Matt Freehauf [comedian Patton Oswalt, who plays an overweight guy who was bullied in school and was unpopular] I certainly wasn't popular, but I don't also remember being disliked. I think I really just was off either in a movie theatre or cutting something in a video room.

Is Mavis's stuck-in-youth thing something you would describe as a generational malaise?

I never really thought much about it, making this film. It wasn't really a theme as much as a specific element of Mavis's life. The only moment when things made sense for her was when she was 17, and since then, she's been trying to retrace her steps. It's like she's gone so far off the highway, and now she's trying to find the road again. So she literally goes back to her high-school boyfriend and tries to get him back, no matter how unreasonable her mission is.

We're used to seeing males playing these narcissistic characters – like Jim Carrey in Cable Guy or Bill Murray in What About Bob? But it's unusual in a woman's role. Why was Theron chosen for the part?

I needed an actress who is incredibly brave because I didn't want someone to come in and do a caricature. I wanted the real deal: a dramatic actress who was willing to not do an accent or affectation. I wanted a real person, one who makes you uncomfortable and makes you cringe at the end. Charlize was game for that. Her defining characteristic as an actress is being fearless.

Young Adult has an "indie" feel rather than the larger social statement of Up in the Air. Were you conscious of wanting to go in a different, more intimate direction, rather than topping yourself with something bigger?

I had written a follow-up to Up in the Air called Labor Day, which I'll be directing this June. But Labor Day got pushed back, and I had this window. This screenplay showed up and I was in this rare position to direct a film that is very hard to get made these days in Hollywood. I knew that it had the potential to ostracize certain audience members. And I knew it was certainly different from my prior work. If people come in expecting Juno, it's going to be a punch in the gut. But the films that made me want to be a director are ones from the seventies like Carnal Knowledge, Shampoo and Downhill Racer. Movies that don't have sweet endings.

This interview has been condensed and edited.