The Adam Project: Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy Break Down Film's Emotional Ending

03/21/2022 11:52 pm EDT

Movie fans have been buzzing about Netflix's new film The Adam Project, not just because it's an exciting and original sci-fi blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds, but also because it packs an emotional punch we can all relate to. The film is all about a man traveling back in time to save the future, with the help of his younger self, dealing with his complex feelings about his mother and late father along the way. One of the final scenes in the film involves both versions of Adam playing catch in the yard with their dad before being sent back to their correct places in the timeline.

That scene in the yard is one of the most emotional in the entire movie, and it is one that has resonated with fans since The Adam Project's debut earlier this month. During a recent interview with Collider, Reynolds and director Shawn Levy opened up about that ending scene.

"It was never something else, but I knew I wanted to not shy away from that catharsis at the end. I like movies that make me feel a lot," Levy explained. "I just, again, I felt lucky that I had my guy, now one of my greatest friends of my life in Ryan, and we're making a movie that is a blast in action and funny, but also gets to be a drama in some moments where it counts. It just felt thrilling to me. It still feels thrilling to me. So that ending was always built in that there was going to be a goodbye. We were never going to give it a happy ending, but we had to give it an ending with closure and redemption. So we did a little rewrite on it, but then we shot that scene."

Levy went on to say that once the scene rehearsals started, it was clear that Mark Ruffalo was ready to carry the emotional weight. They quickly stopped rehearsing and just shot the scene, allowing Ruffalo to lead the way.

"And literally, after less than a full rehearsal, I felt, 'Oh, it's happening. It's coming. So let's just, no more rehearsing. We shoot," Levy continued. "And Mark, from take one, brought it. Ryan, I remember Ryan saying, 'I just needed to listen. I just locked into Mark.'"

"All I had to do literally is just look at Mark and feel everything, every unrequited moment I've ever had with my own father in real life," Reynolds added. "Truly, I felt so lucky to be working with someone like Mark Ruffalo, who is as good, if not better than everyone already knows him to be. And then the catch stuff, that's all for me is incredibly resonant. That is how I connected with my father. When my father, who's now been dead for six, seven years, all of my memories that are beautiful with my father are us having a catch on the lawn. That is in the movie, but that's also true of my real life, which is my dad always had time for that."

What did you think of The Adam Project on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!

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