Adopting Audrey has some depth and charm. It stars Jena Malone as an impoverished young woman who is alienated from her family and is wandering alone in the world. So, implausibly but apparently based on true events, she seeks out a new family by joining an adult adoption website.

She is taken under the wing of a dysfunctional family, and forms a quiet but real bond with the grumpy German father Otto played by Robert Hunger-Bühler. He is the best thing in the film. Although Malone is also very good as the brave-faced drifter Audrey who relies on the internet in the absence of genuine relationships.

The story is loosely based on real life. It’s affectionate and full of sad hope, but has a disjointed feel at times like a collection of incidents (losing a job, cutting a finger, another awkward dinner). Having said that, there’s something compelling about watching someone lead an empty life and not know what else to do except repeat the same patterns over again somewhere else.

Her plight is relatable to anyone who has been young, directionless and unable to pay their bills, but Audrey probably ends up providing more of a service to the new family than they do for her.

The script is sparse and I think more could have been made out of the relationship between Otto and Audrey. Nonetheless, Adopting Audrey doesn’t try too hard to tug at the heartstrings which is good, and it easily slots into the decent indie film category.

Ailie Hunter
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