Jason KingWasted on the Young (8/10)
February 14th 2011 07:47
:
Visually Stunning!
Category: Reviews
Wasted on the Young (8/10)
Wasted on the Young plays like a cross between Gus Van Sant's Elephant and this generation's Cruel Intentions with a large sprinkling of Lord of the Flies for teenagers.
In a high-end cliquey private school where kids want for nothing, handsome and vicious Zack (Alex Russell) rules the school with a manipulatively smooth touch. His menacing lieutenants, Brook (T.J. Power) and Jonathan (Tom Stokes), serve as his muscle, and together the three are high school royalty. When Zack's attempts at flirtation are dismissed by smart, self-assured Xandrie (Adelaide Clemens), he's more than miffed by the rejection. Xandrie is far more interested in Darren (Oliver Ackland), Zack's shy step-brother. When Zack throws one of his famous parties in his family's high-tech minimalist mansion, he decides to get revenge for being slighted. Xandrie is drugged and locked in the basement with Zack and his boys, only to wake up the next day bloody and abandoned on a beach. What happened to her? Why are Zack and his friends texting cruel rumours about her? When the gossip escalates to violence, it draws Darren deeper into Xandrie's world.
It is a visual masterpiece that is so succesful in its artistic saturation that it rivals the cinematography and art direction of Gattaca. This film is heavily stylised and lot of this is to do with cinematographer Dan Freene, who surprisingly is a friend of mine. I have not seen him for a few years but back in the day we were part of the same crew that made short films together. Look where it got us - Dan a hugely succesful cinematographer on a soon to be meteoric rise and me writing my film site hahahaha. He was also the DOP for 2008 Tropfest winner Marry Me. Even back then Dan's knowledge of lighting and camera angles was astounding - having come from a succesful photography career he was desperate to enter the world of cinematography and his skills in the field will forever benefit him and I see him being much sought after once this film releases and scoops some awards. Dan's cinematography matched with the production/ art design of Sam Hobbs (Beneath Hill 60) and Visual Effects by Nathan Stione (animator on House of Flying Daggers) give us a film that is visually innovative and not something we see regularly on the Australian market. Being so visual is superb and Dan's shots of the swimming, especially the opening scenes blew me away from the get go. Although I do have to admit that sometimes I felt the direction lent a lot towards the artistry of the talent and only rarely felt some scenes were too artistic for artsiness sake when they weren't required.
A lot of the story actually comes from a fictionalised view influenced by Director Ben Lucas's childhood. He had never been to school until he was 13 - prior to this he lived with his parents on a boat living an isolated, although heavenly, life. Having to walk into a heirarchical society of ruthless teenagers would have been a nightmare for anyone. I loathed school most of the time and while you know there are teachers and parents around they are not always there and some of those kids are satanic little f**ks that need to be put down for society's sake. And this is what Lucas has done with this film, you will NEVER see an adult in the entire film and this emphasises this isolation into a sometimes brutal world ran by children. People can be incredibly cruel, especially when they are young and still trying to find their path in life while basically mirroring what they see at home. In the world of Wasted on the Young, the parents are never present so they have to run society the best way they know how and it is all through Darwinism - survival of the fittest.
The acting is just awesome and matches the direction and cinematography well, Alex Russell as Zack is pretty damn fine for a first time role - he is just hot and the leader of the school pack through his good looks and sporting prowess. Although his blurry arty naked scene did get a barrel of laughs from the audience. Zack is an egomaniac who is self obsessed and absorbed and believes the world is his - like most teenagers at school - this is something that will get crushed out of him the second he enters the real world
. Alex will soon be seen in the Australian film BAIT with my Aussie GOD Xavier Samuels and Lincoln Lewis.
Then there is Oliver Ackland - a guy I have had a crush on ever since seeing him in the drink driving advert where everyone morphs into a cop with the song "Everybody Knows" - he has the most amazing eyes and I wanted to see more of him ever since that commerial haha - so here he is. He plays geek step brother to Alex, Darren, brilliantly - him and Adeliade Clemens as Xanthie carry the Romeo and Juliet inspired love story of this film and they do it well. Darren is incredibly introverted and builds everything up inside until it becomes toxically explosive - I LOVE IT
Adelaide Clemens is stunning in the film and in beauty. She has smoother skin than Rhys Wakefield, which I never thought would be possible and holds the viewers attention in every scene. Her and Ackland actually had recurring roles on Pirate Islands although not at the same time. She has also been in The Pacific and XMen Wolverine plus the TV show Lie to Me and will soon be seen in the new Mad Max: Fury Road. She is just great and I cannot wait to see more of her.
One thing that did bug me about the casting, while I like them all, the age gap between actor and character is ludicrous - Ackland was actually born in 1979 and is 32yrs old - he meant to be 18 in this film The rest of the actors are the same in their age gaps I believe and while they are good at acting the age it is VERY evident they are not the age of their characters. It was worse than Dawson's Creek at the time lol.
I also need to point out the work of another friend, Steve Schofield - the best gaffer in the Aussie business who does a fine job on the film
The film is a strong over exaggerated look at the FB generation, the reliance on money and technology and Lucas's ideal of where it could head if handled wrong. There is a lot of FB styled films coming out at the moment and the fact we live in a social media environment with IPhones, Smart Phones, IPads and a camera/ video camera in everybody's hands is a dangerous world - especially one run by ignorant, arrogant and ruthless teenagers, definitely check this one out on March 3rd when it releases, try not to tweet during the film Well worth 8 out of 10, especially for the insanely brilliant cinematography.
Wasted on the Young plays like a cross between Gus Van Sant's Elephant and this generation's Cruel Intentions with a large sprinkling of Lord of the Flies for teenagers.
In a high-end cliquey private school where kids want for nothing, handsome and vicious Zack (Alex Russell) rules the school with a manipulatively smooth touch. His menacing lieutenants, Brook (T.J. Power) and Jonathan (Tom Stokes), serve as his muscle, and together the three are high school royalty. When Zack's attempts at flirtation are dismissed by smart, self-assured Xandrie (Adelaide Clemens), he's more than miffed by the rejection. Xandrie is far more interested in Darren (Oliver Ackland), Zack's shy step-brother. When Zack throws one of his famous parties in his family's high-tech minimalist mansion, he decides to get revenge for being slighted. Xandrie is drugged and locked in the basement with Zack and his boys, only to wake up the next day bloody and abandoned on a beach. What happened to her? Why are Zack and his friends texting cruel rumours about her? When the gossip escalates to violence, it draws Darren deeper into Xandrie's world.
It is a visual masterpiece that is so succesful in its artistic saturation that it rivals the cinematography and art direction of Gattaca. This film is heavily stylised and lot of this is to do with cinematographer Dan Freene, who surprisingly is a friend of mine. I have not seen him for a few years but back in the day we were part of the same crew that made short films together. Look where it got us - Dan a hugely succesful cinematographer on a soon to be meteoric rise and me writing my film site hahahaha. He was also the DOP for 2008 Tropfest winner Marry Me. Even back then Dan's knowledge of lighting and camera angles was astounding - having come from a succesful photography career he was desperate to enter the world of cinematography and his skills in the field will forever benefit him and I see him being much sought after once this film releases and scoops some awards. Dan's cinematography matched with the production/ art design of Sam Hobbs (Beneath Hill 60) and Visual Effects by Nathan Stione (animator on House of Flying Daggers) give us a film that is visually innovative and not something we see regularly on the Australian market. Being so visual is superb and Dan's shots of the swimming, especially the opening scenes blew me away from the get go. Although I do have to admit that sometimes I felt the direction lent a lot towards the artistry of the talent and only rarely felt some scenes were too artistic for artsiness sake when they weren't required.
A lot of the story actually comes from a fictionalised view influenced by Director Ben Lucas's childhood. He had never been to school until he was 13 - prior to this he lived with his parents on a boat living an isolated, although heavenly, life. Having to walk into a heirarchical society of ruthless teenagers would have been a nightmare for anyone. I loathed school most of the time and while you know there are teachers and parents around they are not always there and some of those kids are satanic little f**ks that need to be put down for society's sake. And this is what Lucas has done with this film, you will NEVER see an adult in the entire film and this emphasises this isolation into a sometimes brutal world ran by children. People can be incredibly cruel, especially when they are young and still trying to find their path in life while basically mirroring what they see at home. In the world of Wasted on the Young, the parents are never present so they have to run society the best way they know how and it is all through Darwinism - survival of the fittest.
The acting is just awesome and matches the direction and cinematography well, Alex Russell as Zack is pretty damn fine for a first time role - he is just hot and the leader of the school pack through his good looks and sporting prowess. Although his blurry arty naked scene did get a barrel of laughs from the audience. Zack is an egomaniac who is self obsessed and absorbed and believes the world is his - like most teenagers at school - this is something that will get crushed out of him the second he enters the real world
. Alex will soon be seen in the Australian film BAIT with my Aussie GOD Xavier Samuels and Lincoln Lewis. 
Then there is Oliver Ackland - a guy I have had a crush on ever since seeing him in the drink driving advert where everyone morphs into a cop with the song "Everybody Knows" - he has the most amazing eyes and I wanted to see more of him ever since that commerial haha - so here he is. He plays geek step brother to Alex, Darren, brilliantly - him and Adeliade Clemens as Xanthie carry the Romeo and Juliet inspired love story of this film and they do it well. Darren is incredibly introverted and builds everything up inside until it becomes toxically explosive - I LOVE IT
Adelaide Clemens is stunning in the film and in beauty. She has smoother skin than Rhys Wakefield, which I never thought would be possible and holds the viewers attention in every scene. Her and Ackland actually had recurring roles on Pirate Islands although not at the same time. She has also been in The Pacific and XMen Wolverine plus the TV show Lie to Me and will soon be seen in the new Mad Max: Fury Road. She is just great and I cannot wait to see more of her.
One thing that did bug me about the casting, while I like them all, the age gap between actor and character is ludicrous - Ackland was actually born in 1979 and is 32yrs old - he meant to be 18 in this film
The rest of the actors are the same in their age gaps I believe and while they are good at acting the age it is VERY evident they are not the age of their characters. It was worse than Dawson's Creek at the time lol.I also need to point out the work of another friend, Steve Schofield - the best gaffer in the Aussie business who does a fine job on the film
The film is a strong over exaggerated look at the FB generation, the reliance on money and technology and Lucas's ideal of where it could head if handled wrong. There is a lot of FB styled films coming out at the moment and the fact we live in a social media environment with IPhones, Smart Phones, IPads and a camera/ video camera in everybody's hands is a dangerous world - especially one run by ignorant, arrogant and ruthless teenagers, definitely check this one out on March 3rd when it releases, try not to tweet during the film
Well worth 8 out of 10, especially for the insanely brilliant cinematography.| 22 |
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