Four friends have an unpleasant afternoon when two let their egos get the better of them in this independent drama. Charlie (Devon Gummersall) is an aspiring filmmaker with lots of ideas but little to show for them. He is house-sitting for his father, who directs television commercials and is out of town on an assignment. Charlie and his girlfriend Paloma (Arly Jover) spend much of their time getting wasted; Charlie then makes grand pronouncements about the future of cinema while she patiently
listens. Things become tense, however, when Charlie's friend Joe (Eion Bailey), who has a taste for drugs, stops by with his girlfriend (Leslie Bibb) and the conversation turns ugly. The Young Unknowns was adapted from the stage drama Magic Afternoon by Wolfgang Bauer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
First-time director Catherine Jelski dredges up every cliche about druggy, obnoxious dreamers on the fringes of Hollywood and assumes that said cliches have the power to shock and surprise.
Within this haze of drug abuse, cockiness and hollowness, we're supposed to feel for our young, spoiled protagonist. Sadly, what we mostly feel is the pain of our eyes constantly rolling in our heads.
You're not going to feel enlightened by The Young Unknowns and, frankly, you'll probably benefit by keeping them unknown from your film-going pocketbook.
A film of probative quietude with fiercely invested in performances; in small ways perceptive and intelligent but overall too lackadaisical in its intellectual application to leave upon viewers more than a faint, passing memory.
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