Greetings readers! It’s another Saturday morning, and that means the weekend has come again, and THAT means it’s MOVIE TIME!! While a local theater DOES have this new indie offering, I felt it was nicer to simply enjoy it from the comfort of my own apartment via the wondrous world of On Demand. And so, I give you….”Young Ones”.
SEE THE TRAILER HERE
Brought to us by Writer/Director Jake Paltrow, the film takes us into a dystopian future in the American West, where severe drought has become the norm, and the newest commodity in demand has now become water. We are introduced to the desperation of those who live in this wasteland via two men who find out it is NOT a good idea to tamper with another’s property, courtesy of Ernest Holm (Michael Shannon). Along with him is his son, Jerome (Kodi Smit-McPhee), whom seems intent on wanting to please his father and show he can be of assistance to him in the struggle to survive, of which Ernest is understanding and indicates the strong bond he has with his son. Also at the Holm residence is Ernest’s daughter, Mary (Elle Fanning), whom we find is NOT the happiest person in the world and who wants nothing but to get away from Dad (whom she sees as having completely failed the family) and run off with her boyfriend, Flem Lever (Nicholas Hoult). Also revealed, though not in detail, is that Ernest’s wife Katherine (Aimee Mullins) is living at a care facility from what we can only surmise was a VERY harsh physical trauma. Having battled alcoholism, and running supplies to a local water pipeline group lead by Caleb Moore (Robert Hobbs) to make money, Ernest crosses paths with Flem, and when an act of treachery occurs, the lives of everyone are shifted. Flem ultimately becomes a bigger part of Jerome and Mary’s life, each in their respective ways, and soon we see that Flem has many other agendas on his mind, all initially based on the past history of the land his father Sam (David Butler) used to own but was taken away. He also has other methods of earning money, even at the cost of other “friends”, including Robbie (Christy Pankhurst) and his wife Sooz (Alex McGregor), whose naiveté costs them dearly when trusting Flem. Finally striking a deal with Caleb, Flem feels he’s got things in control. The focus then shifts to Jerome, who in his meekness, ends up curious about the entire situation. When a malfunctioning machine the family uses to carry supplies to Caleb, among other duties, returns to its original maker Calvin Hooyman (David Clatworthy), revelations come about for Jerome, who then travels back to his home and makes a series of decisions that will also redirect the entire future for him and Mary. It ultimately shows that in discovering the truth, at what cost is it to make something right, but still protect those you love? Can one final decision be justified in order to keep living life with secrets? Further details would constitute spoilers, and as you know, I will NOT do that. So I hope this initial overview suffices.
As you can probably ascertain from the review above, one of the unique aspects of this film is that it is told in three parts, and hence, from three perspectives, all of which intertwine to make up the whole. And this device really worked well for me. Getting these different “angles” of the story via Ernest, Flem, and Jerome aided in building up the tension, drama, and inevitable climax to the story. Better yet, the film THEN drops an interesting and provocative addendum to events, which is what causes you to realize the weight of choices made by each character throughout. I was INVESTED in what was happening, the film KEPT my attention, and that is always a great sign for me when I view one. While the whole concept of dystopian futures is nothing new in film these days, I loved the simplicity of the world “Young Ones” portrays. And since indie film RELIES on story and characters to carry it, this film did a solid job doing so. Michael Shannon is a favorite actor of mine, and whether he’s playing Zod in “Man of Steel” to Ernest in this one, he always delivers a performance that you remember. Elle Fanning is a rising star in her own right, and her role as Mary was very well done, as she brings the right amount of emotion and EMOTING for the character without overacting it. She was very believable to me. And the same could be said for Smit-McPhee as his Jerome, as the sheer innocence and humbleness of that character is put to the test SO much in this story, and when you THINK you know what he is or is not capable of handling or doing….he surprises you. And I can ALSO say the same for Nicholas Hoult’s Flem, who right from the outset is just one of those people who KNOW you love to hate. I have enjoyed Hoult’s performances as Hank McCoy/Beast in the recent “X-Men: First Class” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past“, but seeing him in a smaller film was refreshing, as was the chance to see him play a decidedly unsavory person! It’s that “calm menace” he brings to Flem that captured me, I think. And the overall visual look of the film definitely transports you to the desert wasteland the future has become, and the plight of all those trying to survive, even when knowing there ARE other placed in the country that thrive and have water. In conclusion, you are brought a well done indie effort here, and I would most certainly recommend it to those indie fans looking for a solid story, straight-forward characters, some tension/suspense, and wonderful performances.
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
