Cannes Review: Adam’s Sake is a Compassionate Yet Inconsistent Hospital Drama

      Laura Wandel made a significant impact with her debut feature, Playground, which explores the experiences of a very young girl during her first days of school, earning praise for its profound portrayal of a child's perspective. Drawing from the stringent realism typical of Belgian cinema, Wandel's directorial style showcases deep empathy, utilizing subjective shots and handheld camerawork to enhance the visuals. In her latest film, Adam’s Sake, she shifts the setting from a school to a hospital’s pediatric clinic, facilitating a broader social critique of the bureaucratic nature of such institutions.

      Léa Drucker (Last Summer) takes on the role of Lucy, a senior nurse whose dedication is matched only by her strong sense of right and wrong. The film opens with a line from one doctor to another that encapsulates the unfolding narrative: “We’re worried about Adam.” Lucy's responsibility is to monitor the 4-year-old boy (Jules Delsart), who refuses to eat hospital food in the absence of his mother. However, Rebecca (Anamaria Vartolomei), Adam's mother, has limited visiting hours due to a recent court decision that placed Adam in the hospital for malnutrition. The specific reasons become clearer later, but it appears both the social worker and the court have concluded that Rebecca’s parenting puts the child at risk.

      Right from the start, the interactions among Lucy, Rebecca, and Adam are intense; the tension persists throughout the film, which unfolds the story of a young, single mother who is too proud to seek help, leading to emotional outbursts and impulsive decisions. Adam finds himself caught between two women who disagree about his best interests: an overly protective mother and an intrusive pediatric nurse. As such, the primary conflict revolves around the two women, with Adam lacking agency or a voice—a surprising narrative choice from a director who has previously focused on children's perspectives. In this context, the title Adam’s Sake appears more ironic than genuinely caring.

      Despite its brief runtime of 78 minutes, the film shifts toward the end to offer a redemptive moment for Adam with a line delivered suddenly and in close-up. It’s admirable how effectively Wandel orchestrates this moment to provide Adam with the depth one would expect from the director of Playground. However, Adam’s Sake relies too heavily on this climactic instance and on a cathartic resolution for both Rebecca and Lucy, who ultimately come to see one another as reflections of their shared experiences as solo parents.

      Nonetheless, Wandel does not overlook the social purpose of her filmmaking. Cinematographer Frédéric Noirhomme's dynamic camerawork from Playground is also present here, following Lucy through extensive tracking shots around the hospital and alternating between over-the-shoulder perspectives, lower angles, and moments of stillness while she interacts with other patients. The camera's attention even extends to minor characters and extras, indicating the thorough research Wandel conducted prior to filming. While Adam’s Sake may not be among the most surprising recent hospital dramas—especially when compared to films like Petra Volpe’s Late Shift, which screened at Berlinale earlier this year—a more generous interpretation of Wandel’s latest work could highlight its critique of hospitals and legal systems that determine a child's welfare without fully understanding the varying contexts of parenting decisions.

      Adam’s Sake premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.