The post apocalyptic film is quickly becoming this generation’s equivalent to the Western. The similarities are too obvious to ignore, plus the themes speak to much of what is happening currently. The newest addition to the genre is Young Ones, directed by Jake Paltrow (the brother of Gwyneth) and sports an extraordinarily talented cast. It stars Michael Shannon (Man of Steel), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Elle Fanning (Maleficent), and Kodi Smit McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), all of which can carry a film on their own.
The trailer shows great promise in what looks to be a futuristic There Will Be Blood. We see a future farmer’s struggle to keep his family together during and apocalyptic drought which has torn the country apart. The juxtaposition of the barren landscape combined with limited futuristic technology, such as droids, clearly is a homage to the opening of Star Wars: A New Hope as well. Paltrow is at least aiming high with his aspirations. This should be one to keep an eye on. Enjoy the trailer:
Here is the official synopsis (via Slashfilm):
YOUNG ONES is set in a near future when 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 (Michael Shannon) lives on this harsh frontier with his children, Jerome (Kodi Smit McPhee) and Mary (Elle Fanning). He defends his farm from bandits, works the supply routes, and hopes to rejuvenate the soil. But Mary’s boyfriend, Flem Lever (Nicholas Hoult), has grander designs. He wants Ernest’s land for himself, and will go to any length to get it. From writer/director Jake Paltrow comes a futuristic western, told in three chapters, which inventively layers Greek tragedy over an ethereal narrative that’s steeped deeply in the values of the American West.
Young Ones opens October 17th, 2014. Let us know what you think below, on or !
Source: Slashfilm