No. 26 Young Ones (2014) 58 of 100

 

Sadly this offering doesn’t include Neil, Rik, Mike or Vyvyan – not even Cliff Richard! It is instead a sci-fi western, with a lot to like but a bit thin on plot.

The film is set in a future America which has been decimated by drought. The settings look Australian but the film was shot in South Africa. Shannon plays Ernest Holm, a homesteader with a young family and a disabled wife. There is a suggestion that his wife’s injuries came from a drink involved accident for which Ernest was at fault. She stays in a care facility and can only walk via a high tech mechanical apparatus.

Throughout the film there are well realised examples of technology that is just a bit more advanced than we have, such as a fan like mobile phone and a paper video card that you can watch funerals, and presumably other events, on.

When we fist encounter Shannon he is dealing with two men who are trying to break into his hut. Both go for their guns but are cut down by Ernest’s nifty shotgun. We find the hut contains Ernest’s water pump, but the well has run dry anyway.

There is a real thirst shown in the film, with dishes being washed in sand for example. The filling stations pump water and a small drink costs a quarter. There is still some water underground but the government have a monopoly and their gangs of men covet the fluid greedily. Ernest turns a buck by selling them booze but his enterprise flounders when he has to shoot his donkey after an accident. Luckily there is a nearby auction and Ernest manages to outbid local troublemaker Nicholas Hoult on a mechanical horse type machine known as a ‘Sim’.

Trouble follows when the Sim goes missing as does some of the water workers’ supplies. Ernest initially gets the blame but he finds the Hoult is the real culprit. Unfortunately for Ernest his love of the bottle drops his guard and his is killed by Hoult who looks like he’s make a good fast bowler. Shannon therefore bows out early in this film, which is broken up into three chapters.

Chapters two and three deal with Hoult and then Ernest’s son. There are dealings with the bank and the water workers, and soon, due to some irrigation, crops flourish again. With Hoult awaiting his baby with Ernest’s daughter things are looking up – but will a saved memory change the fates of our characters?

I quite liked this film but I felt it did lose its way after an hour when there was a lot of padding to get to the somewhat predictable denouement. The settings and cinematography were great as were the majority of the cast. The lad from ‘The Road’ was slightly less annoying than in that previous outing and Hoult was decent as the baddie – not ‘About a Boy’ decent but still passable.

Shannon was good as the flawed but resourceful and charismatic patriarch and it was a pity he barely made it to the forty minute mark. The robot ‘Sim’ was excellent and it had a real personality despite not saying anything. I felt bad for it when it was being abused!

Despite an elaborate set up and some great tech and effects the film was basically just a western revenge thriller. I had hoped it would have developed from it’s promising start but it kind of meandered off and took a lot of my interest with it.

The film has a strange coda at the end where each of the actors are stood in front of a curtain with their name and character name displayed. This made the think seem like a play and a bit reminiscent of Wes Anderson. It was an interesting touch but somewhat incongruous to what had gone before.

Overall this was a well acted and interesting film that just didn’t have the gas to make it a standout feature, which was a pity as all the pieces were there.

When is Shannon-On? - 02.01

Outcome? Dead, getting dragged off by a robot

Film 3/5

Shannon Stars 3/5