Screen Media has revealed the first trailer and poster for Young Ones, a dystopian, sci-fi western written and directed by Jake Paltrow and starring Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit McPhee. The studio’s description of the flick is a bit lofty saying it “inventively layers Greek tragedy over an ethereal narrative that’s steeped deeply in the values of the American West.” Big talk, can it live up to it?
Set for release on October 17, the pic is set in a near future in which water has become the most precious and dwindling resource on the planet, one that dictates everything from the macro of political policy to the detailed micro of interpersonal family and romantic relationships. The land has withered into something wretched. The dust has settled on a lonely, barren planet. The hardened survivors of the loss of Earth’s precious resources scrape and struggle. Ernest Holm (Shannon) lives on this harsh frontier with his children, Jerome (Smit McPhee)and Mary (Fanning). He defends his farm from bandits, works the supply routes, and hopes to rejuvenate the soil. But Mary’s boyfriend, Flem Lever (Hoult), has grander designs. He wants Ernest’s land for himself, and will go to any length to get it.
The film played Sundance this year and received mixed reviews, some finding it interesting, but most seeming to suggest it stretched itself a little too thin. Neverthless, sounds intriguing and could be worth a watch.
