Young Ones (2014)

Set in the future when water is hard to find, a teenage boy sets out to protect his family and survive.

Director:

Jake Paltrow

Writer:

Jake Paltrow

Stars:

Nicholas Hoult, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Shannon

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Shannon	...	Ernest Holm
Nicholas Hoult	...	Flem Lever
Elle Fanning	...	Mary Holm
Kodi Smit-McPhee	...	Jerome Holm
Robert Hobbs	...	Caleb Moore
David Butler	...	Sam Lever
Aimee Mullins	...	Katherine Holm
Christy Pankhurst	...	Robbie
Alex McGregor	...	Sooz
David Clatworthy	...	Calvin Hooyman
Liah O'Prey	...	Anna
Carel Nel	...	Bandit
Andy McPhee	...	Foreman
Barry Armitage	...	Well-dressed man
Ben Horowitz	...	Water Guard

Storyline

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) fends 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.

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | water | the future | ham radio | neo western | 

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Taglines:

In a future without water vengeance will rain.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

South Africa Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Ones

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,740

Company Credits

Production Co:

Subotica Entertainment, Spier Films, Quickfire Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicholous Hoult & Kodi Smit-McMphee would later reunite in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

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Goofs

The movie focuses on them needing a robot to transport water, but the main character is later seen driving around in a pickup truck much larger than the robot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jerome Holm: I never saw this land when it was green. My father did. He worked it before the drought came. He used to talk about it all the time. He used to talk about the wheat they grew, and the pride they felt. He always believed in the land. Even as the fights over water first divided states, then towns, and then neighbors. Most people who could, left. But he had his reasons for staying. He was convinced the land would come back. It just needed water. And he was right.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Shailene Woodley/Michael Shannon/Eric Church (2014)

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Soundtracks

Ears
Written by Nathan Johnson
Performed by Nathan Johnson featuring Faux Fix
Courtesy of Choplogic Music
Under license from Nathan Johnson

User Reviews

Outstanding

I just watched this movie (yes a bit late to the game) and was amazed at the, well everything. It was a minimalist movie for the genre but did so much with what they had it seemed like a big budget film. The story is compelling and you actually come to feel emotions for the characters. The direction was outstanding with shots that brought you into the action while at the same time made you feel alone in the desert. Lastly the actors how this movie escaped the Academy is beyond me. Each one brought an element unique to their part of the story from Michael Shannon who was outstanding as the farmer who struggled to keep thing as sane as possible for his children and who hoped for better days with such devotion as to be palpable. To Nicholas Hoult who showed more range than any young actor has a right to. But the rest of the cast each added an element that together make this film amazing.