There is an argument to be made that the new film Here Are The Young Men is interested in exploring and dismantling themes of toxic masculinity in young men who cannot cope with capital “L” life. As the old saying goes, the road to a messy film is paved with good intentions. Based on Rob Doyle’s debut novel of the same name, the film from actor-director Eoin Macken tries to trade on the charisma of the talented young cast in lieu of a strong central narrative. The film aims to be provocative; the disillusionment of our youth has led to a generation looking to unleash their worst tendencies, if only to feel something other than the malaise that comes from living in our society. The thematic possibilities are within reach, but even with the courage to explore darker territory the execution feels lacking.
As three Dublin teenagers leave school in 2003, the promise of sex, drugs and general debauchery swirl wistfully through their minds. They are not quite sure what they want to do with their lives, but they are ready to embrace irresponsibility and break some things along the way – both metaphorically as well as literally. The most reasonable of the three is Matthew (Dean-Charles Chapman, 1917, Game of Thrones), the “sensitive” one if any of them deserve the label. He is a fan of popping pills and downing pints, and he at least hesitates before smashing up his teacher’s vehicle. Rez (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Sing Street, Vikings) is even more of a fan of inebriation, but his intake seems to be the product of a deeper darkness. Finally, there is the burgeoning sociopath Kearney (Finn Cole, Animal Kingdom, Dreamland), the alpha male of the group who proposes and executes bad decisions faster than he can process. An unofficial member of the group is Jen (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit, The New Mutants), their brilliant classmate who has actual ambition and serves as an object of desire for Matthew.
Before the trio can even embark on their “last summer of freedom” in earnest, they witness a terrible traffic accident that deeply impacts them to one degree or another. The failure to cope with this trauma lingers in the background but rarely presents itself as a fully realized concept. One thing it does clearly do is awaken a voracious psychopathy in young Kearney, who is excited to spend the summer in America with his brother – a magical land where he will be able to indulge in his burgeoning toxic masculinity with copious drugs and unlimited sex. On the Irish homefront things are a bit less frenetic as the sullen Matthew connects with Jen on a romantic level and attempts to not completely lose his “good guy” appeal. Rez on the other hand is explored very sparingly outside of the one-note trait of suicidal ideation.
What the film feels is its secret weapon seems to be the most mishandled element. In a bit of fantastical satire, Kearney works out his male aggression on an American game show with a smarmy host (Travis Fimmel, Vikings) where your most vile, sexist thoughts will gain you the respect of the audience. The structural device is not the issue, it is more of a problem of how on-the-nose it all feels. The film struggles to find a way to incorporate these scenes in a way that feels organic, and it gets extra murky once the fantasy and reality starts intersecting late in the film with the completely irredeemable Kearney who views things like killing homeless people as a bit of good fun. The struggle of friendship between Matthew and Kearney is the crux of the film, but it rarely amounts to much terribly exciting. Throw in the fact that the one lone important female character, Jen, is used solely to guide the main character through his morals and you get an unsatisfying blending of plot threads.
For all of the wasted potential in the narrative, the performers put in pretty top notch performances. While completely reprehensible, Finn Cole is transfixing in this villainous role that keeps you invested what little you are by the end. Anya-Taylor Joy has established herself as one of the most exciting young performers around today, but she is all but wasted in this sliver-thin role. She is given credit for bringing an excitement to the character that was certainly not on the page. Stylistically, the film has an aesthetic that is actually pretty interesting most of the time, but when you have nothing in the narrative to back it up it feels like a waste. The film is ambitious in its desire to explore complex, dark themes that are relevant to modern times, but it gets lost in its own good intentions.
Video Quality
Here Are The Young Men comes to Blu-Ray with a gorgeous AVC encoded 1080p transfer that showcases the look of the film really well. Where the transfer really shines is the vibrancy of the colors that establishes the aesthetic of the film. The cinematography features some nice pops of color with everything appearing to have a slightly soft, dreamy quality about it like a memory. The feature is filled with deeply saturated hues that are applied through striking grading techniques, such as shots bathed in reds, purples and oranges. The transfer showcases some impressive level of detail both in the costumes and the production design. Everything from the subtle details of the television studio setting to the texture of the costumes is quite impressive. The picture is mostly clear with only brief instances of murkiness during a few darker scenes. Black levels are admirable but could stand to be a bit deeper. Skin tones are natural throughout with some impeccable details present in certain shots. Overall, this is quite a powerful transfer that should please fans.
Audio Quality
The film comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that has quite a bit of depth and is well balanced, which is appreciated in a film that utilizes music so powerfully. Environmental effects play a substantial role in the film, and this track brings these elements to life quite capably. The use of the rear channels to create a fully enveloping world works quite well. The directionality is quite precise so sounds always present as natural when coming from their respective points. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being overwhelmed by any of the other sounds. The track is most active when the music is permeating the room in a really wonderful way. Activity in the low end can be quite fierce and adds a great deal of texture to various sonic elements. Well Go USA has delivered a great track for the film.
Special Features
- Trailer: The nearly two-minute trailer for the film is provided here which does not quite capture what the film actually is perfectly.
Final Thoughts
Here Are The Young Men is an ambitious condemnation of toxic male aggression that fails to make its point in a compelling way. The performances from the young ensemble are all really quite grand, but the script they are given to work from lets them down. You can see the outline of where a better movie could have emerged, but what we got is a messy, underdeveloped feature that misses the mark. Well Go USA has released a Blu-Ray that features a wonderful A/V presentation. If you are a fan of the film, you will not be let down by the Blu-Ray. Fans of the talent in the film should approach this one with caution.
Here Are The Young Men is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Well Go USA has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
