6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
Starring: Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Aimee MullinsDrama | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jake Paltrow, son of Bruce and brother to Gwyneth, made his feature-length directorial debut with 2007’s “The Good Night.” A successful foray into dreamscapes and loneliness, Paltrow showed surprising confidence with the effort, overseeing strong performances and a distinct visual style to start his career on the right foot. “Young Ones” is his long-overdue follow-up, and the wait between projects may have hurt the helmer in the long run. An ambitious attempt to marry literary-style storytelling with a cinematic futureworld of misery, the picture is mostly paralyzed by its intentions, unable to gain much traction as a family drama or as an examination of dystopian panic. Although created with care, boasting impressive tech credits, “Young Ones” doesn’t generate much tension or post-show reflection, working a bit too hard to emerge as artful and important when it’s barely interesting, prone to wandering instead of remaining dramatically commanding.
The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation does display an immediate brightness that remains throughout the viewing experience. It feels perfectly natural to the feature's tone and artistic intent, even while it appears artificially boosted at times. Colors are consistent and periodically pronounced, with the orange-centric palette that registers as intended, capturing punishment from the sun. Skintones are equally successful. Contrast faces a few challenges throughout the movie, but blacks are largely secure, delivering passable delineation during evening sequences.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix brings the dusty, windy mood of "Young Ones" to life. Atmospherics are quite good here, bringing out the emptiness of the land and the commotion that periodically arises. Surrounds fill out airplane passes and the group dynamic, giving encouraging energy to community scenes and elements of travel. Scenes of violence and exploration carry some low-end heft. Dialogue exchanges are crisply detailed, capturing ranges in emotion with ideal clarity.
"Young Ones" comes across uneven, moving unsteadily as it builds to what seems intended to be a devastating ending involving Jerome's awakening as a man. While sections of the movie remain enticingly hostile and deeply considered, Paltrow slowly loses the potency of his vision, after a specific dramatic mood that's just out of reach. After "The Good Night," there was hope for the helmer to build on his striking debut. "Young Ones" introduces doubt, displaying a director with an affinity for the abstract and the theatrical, but lacking self-control when it comes time to tell a secure story populated with compelling characters.
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