Cannes Flashback: Tilda Swinton and Ewan McGregor Thrilled the Fest With ‘Young Adam’ in 2003

Tilda Swinton and Cannes go way back — 14 of her films have screened at the festival — and this year she stars opposite Idris Elba in George Miller’s romantic fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing, which premieres at the Palais tonight (Thursday). It is the first MGM title to do so following the studio’s acquisition by Amazon.

In 2003, Swinton brought director David Mackenzie’s erotic thriller Young Adam to the Croisette, alongside co-stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Mortimer.

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Based on the 1954 novel by Alexander Trocchi, the indie film tells the story of a Glasgow-based barge worker (McGregor) who lives on the vessel with its married owners, played by Swinton and Peter Mullan, and begins a love affair with Swinton’s character amid mystery surrounding a dead body found in the river.

“I remember it as a heady moment,” the Oscar-winning actress tells THR about that festival experience. “We were giddy and full of the thrill of our dark northern film being unveiled in this particular southern light.”

THR praised Young Adam in its review, saying of Swinton and McGregor: “It’s hard to think of two less-inhibited actors working today, and although their scorchingly vigorous sex scenes will no doubt help sell the picture, the snipped-bare purity of their performances leaves a lasting impression long after the titillation factor wears off.” (The film landed an NC-17 rating upon its U.S. release.)

The London-born Swinton recalls relishing the quiet of the canals while shooting in Scotland. “Mostly I remember just hanging about on the barge with Ewan and Peter like a peaceable clutch of canal-dwellers,” she says. “I saw Peter recently, and we shared a wee burst of nostalgia for our small slice of the life of that existence.”

Later this year, Swinton and McGregor will have a reunion of sorts when they lend their voices to Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated feature Pinocchio, due out from Netflix in December. McGregor plays Sebastian J. Cricket, while Swinton voices the Blue Fairy.

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