Set in an apocalyptic wasteland, Jake Paltrow’s Young Onespreys on the human experience in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. By placing his characters in a barren landscape where water is a rarity, he evokes an abundance of emotional responses.
If you’ve not yet heard of the movie, it’s likely because it was buried beneath showier fare at this year’s film festivals. Boasting an impressive cast, Michael Shannon leads the charge as a father who’ll do anything for his children (Kodi Smith McPhee and Elle Fanning.) When he’s not working on his farm, he’s protecting it from poachers and thieves, one of whom is none-other than his daughter’s paramour, played by Nicholas Hoult.
I’d not heard much about the movie until recently. The ‘futuristic Western’ genre that saps on old tropes while instilling new situations (i.e. an absence of a primary human requirement) is one that often delights me. Judging by the brief scene in the latest clip, it seems to delight Michael Shannon, too. Eager to keep Hoult in check, he restrains the boy at the ankles while he walks along with what appears to be a robotic dog. Hoult’s a cheeky scamp, whose American accent is now utterly flawless, and Shannon? Well, we should all still kneel before Zod.
Young Ones opens in theatres October 17th.