Young Werther

Modern adaptation of classic novel is not without its charms.

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“Young Werther” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, Dec. 13) seems like an oxymoron. I pretty much exclusively associate Werther’s Originals with the elderly …. only this Werther isn’t a caramel confectionary but rather a youthful, moneyed twerp of an aspiring author played by the almost exaggeratedly handsome British actor Douglas Booth (he previously played Nikki Sixx in “The Dirt”).

Werther has been sent to Toronto to retrieve a statue belonging to his mother from his aunt and uncle. Accompanying him on the trip is his hypochondriac friend Paul (Jaouhar Ben Ayed). Werther is quickly distracted from his task and becomes enchanted by Charlotte (Alison Pill), whom he meets in a bar on her birthday.

Charlotte’s been taking care of her eight siblings including Sissy (Iris Apatow) after the death of their parents. Werther takes a shine to Charlotte despite her already being betrothed to Albert (Patrick J. Adams, “Suits”), the busy lawyer protégé of her late father. Sissy in turn takes a shine to Werther.

Werther ingratiates himself into the family befriending Albert, playing with the children and all along attempting to woo Charlotte.

“Young Werther” is based on the famed 1774 novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which itself inspired Jules Massenet’s 1892 opera “Werther.” (Neither of which I’ve read or seen.)

This iteration is written and directed by José Lourenço. This is his feature debut and there’s much to admire. I really enjoyed the performances of Booth, Pill (a talented actress who’s never been this appealing on screen) and Adams, who’s hugely likable as the inherently decent Albert.

It’s a huge feat what Booth and Lourenço have achieved with the character of Werther, who can alternate between hissable and lovable from scene to scene. The dude’s undeniably a dick, but almost always somewhat endearingly.

The picture is a tad too twee for its own good and often feels like warmed-over Wes Anderson, but it also has a surprising amount of emotional depth and doesn’t tie everything together in a tidy bow … for this I’m grateful even if it can get grating.