In the future, water is scarce, resulting in desperation and transience. Yes, we have heard this one before, but stay with me. On a farm turned stretch of desert lives Ernest (Michael Shannon) with his son and protege (Kodi Smit-McPhee), as well as his daughter (Elle Fanning). They earn their living delivering food, alcohol, and other products to teams of men routing what water is left with pipelines. Ernest regularly tries and fails to persuade or bribe them to send a bit of the water his way. He also frequently clashes with Flem (Nicholas Hoult), a local rebel with an eye for both Ernest's land and daughter. This is the starting point for Young Ones, a riveting Western drama of family and land set in a Mad Max-type future. The film's spectacularly dusty and parched locales are provided by South Africa, and the experience of living in this place is conveyed vividly via small details, such as dishes washed in dirt. The hints of science-fiction imagination and technology, including a robotic beast of burden used to transport heavy loads, are neat without becoming over-the-top. And the human drama, with its violent twists and complicated betrayals, is engaging and buoyed by a fine cast, including the always stonily commanding Shannon and the charismatic, yet weaselly Hoult in his most adult role to date. My only complaint of any substance: the gifted Fanning is a tad squandered in a film squarely focused on the feuds and morals of the male characters. It would be nice if she were given more to do and if more of her character's views were shared.

A-