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Movies / On DVD / The Young Unknowns
The Young Unknowns

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The Young Unknowns (2003)

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Reviews Counted:12

Fresh:2

Rotten:10

Average Rating:4/10

Consensus: A movie about uninteresting people doing uninteresting things.

Rated: R

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Apr 11, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: At his father's expensive home in the Los Angeles hills, aspiring filmmaker Charlie (Devon Gummersall) and his browbeaten girlfriend, Paloma (Arly Jover) bicker and drink until Charlie's best... At his father's expensive home in the Los Angeles hills, aspiring filmmaker Charlie (Devon Gummersall) and his browbeaten girlfriend, Paloma (Arly Jover) bicker and drink until Charlie's best friend Joe (Eion Bailey) arrives, who is another privileged, indulgent Hollywood type. Joe brings both drugs and Cassandra (Leslie Bibb), an aspiring model he has recently met. Over the course of the day, Charlie and Joe get wasted, abuse Cassandra, and alienate Paloma. But when Charlie gets news of a family tragedy, he deals with it by indulging even further, and a night on the town takes the events of the day for an even more tragic turn. Loosely based on a 1969 play by Wolfgang Bauer, THE YOUNG UNKNOWNS taps into the familiar territory of jaded, emotionally hollow twentysomethings, deriving its strength from its astute performances and sharp dialogue. Writer-director Catherine Jelski's film was finished in 2000, but not properly released until 2003--creating a buzz on the festival circuit in the interim, largely due to Gummersall's performance. Charlie is a repugnant character--spoiled, hateful, and arrogant--but in Gummersall's (best known as mild-mannered Brian Krackow or TV's MY SO_CALLED LIFE) hands, he also becomes sympathetic and vulnerable. [More]

Starring: Devon Gummersall, Eion Bailey, Leslie Bibb, Arly Jover

Starring: Devon Gummersall, Eion Bailey, Leslie Bibb, Arly Jover, S.A. Templeman

Director: Catherine Jelski

Director: Catherine Jelski
Screenwriter: Catherine Jelski
Producer: Kimberly Shane O'Hara, Eric M. Klein, Catherine Jelski
Studio: Indican Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 24, 2006

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Reviews for The Young Unknowns

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1 - 12 (sorted by date)
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This bleak little drama started as a play, and I'd bet that even onstage it felt contrived.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/20/09
Hank Sartin
Hank Sartin
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Destined for well-deserved obscurity.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/03/08
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/25/03
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Jelski's casting is daring, in its way, and I wish more American filmmakers would follow her example.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
04/23/03
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The writing and the lead performance of Devon Gummersall in Catherine Jelski's The Young Unknowns makes this spoiled rich kid movie almost tolerable.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/22/03
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is nothing to redeem this movie, and no real reason to see it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/17/03
Kevin M. Williams
Kevin M. Williams
Chicago Tribune
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It is a harrowing experience, anchored by the solid portrayal by young Devon Gummersall.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
04/17/03
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Yet another sordid tale of single white Hollywood kids who get drugged, drunk and disorderly by their swimming pools.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
04/17/03
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A curious exercise in the vein of David Rabe's Hurlyburly that needed greater dramatic heft than is exhibited by the industry lightweights it depicts.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/15/03
Luke Sader
Luke Sader
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

L.A. inconsequential.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
04/11/03
Megan Lehmann
Megan Lehmann
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Catherine Jelski's debut feature, The Young Unknowns, made in 2000 but just now being released, reveals a real talent for handling actors but never quite overcomes a feeling of familiarity and staginess.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/11/03
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
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Numbing but effective debut.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/08/03
Ed Park
Ed Park
Village Voice
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