WASTED YOUTH // A FILM REVIEW OF "HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN"
Set in 2003, HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN, which is based on the 2014 novel of the same name, is a stylistic, punk fueled ode to lost youth and the struggle to face a fastly approaching adulthood. The film centers around three Irish friends who have just left school - Matthew (Dean-Charles Chapman), Kearney (Finn Cole) and Rez (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Those who are familiar with the novel will note immediately that the character of Cocker has been completely erased. Matthew works in his families automotive shop and has a crush on his friend Jen (Anya Taylor-Joy). Kearney has plans to leave Ireland behind and head to the US where he thinks women will be all over him. While Rez is often stuck as their third while and silently battles mental illness. All three boys seem to revel in chaos (with Matthew occasionally showing a level head). They bust up cars, break into their old school and party the night away at party after party, getting as drunk and high on pills as possible.
All three of their lives take a sudden and dark turn when they witness a young girl get hit by a car. All three boys take the tragedy in different ways: Matthew can't get the images out of his head but refuses to face them head on, Rez sinks into a pit of depression and Kearney finds that the car crash unlocks something inside of him, something dark. He begins to film himself doing crude and horrible things, sinking lower and lower into these vile acts. Jen and Matthew fall into a relationship quickly but the accident pushes them farther and farther apart. Through more parties, more drugs and more bad decisions, the trio of friends embark on a future that looks very different than they planned on and might not be able to hold on as it spins out of control.
Eoin Macken's film (which he co-wrote with the novel's writer Rob Doyle) is stylistically sharp and even somethings haunting. But unlike another "youth gone wild" film called TRAINSPOTTING (which is clearly an inspiration), the more surreal moments of the novel don't translate as well. In both the novel and film, there's an oddball surreal game show called BIG SHOW! that takes place entirely in Kearney's subconscious mind. We see it here as well but it also flows through Matthew's mind (but not Rez's, for some reason). It's a bold and risky move, one that the film can't quite pull off. Instead, the sequences are often jarring and confusing, muddling more than enhancing. The actors are all quite solid, and even though it's very clear that Kearney is an abusive manipulator from his first moment on screen, Finn Cole powers through the role with a horrifying fierceness. The roles of Rez and Jen are both sadly underdeveloped, which is a shame since both Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Anya Taylor-Joy are both strong screen presences (this was filmed far before Taylor-Joy's current fame, courtesy of THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT). She does the most she can with the role, but sadly ends up only being a catalyst for Matthew's growth and not a fully developed character of her own. And as the only meaty female role, it's a bad look for the film to have. In the end, HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN seems to be unsure of what it wants to say, or at least how to tell us. So we're left guessing what point they're trying to make among all of the toxic masculinity, which may be the reason the feeling you leave with is quite a hollow one.
GRADE: C+
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Rob Doyle SCREENPLAY BY Rob Doyle, Eoin Macken DIRECTED BY Eoin Macken STARRING Dean-Charles Chapman, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Conleth Hill, Ralph Ineson. NOW PLAYING IN DIGITAL CINEMAS EVERYWHERE. FOR MORE INFO: HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN