Here Are the Young Men

Taylor-Joy, Miami born doing a good Irish accent, plays older-for-younger and is the "smartest person in the room" in this otherwise familiar tale of young male self-destruction. You don't need a movie for that. Just walk to the local grocery store.

This is one of those movies where at the end you think to yourself why did you even bother making this, the plot is basically non existent just some teens doing some drugs and acting out in one extreme or another due to an event they all experience, throw in some bizarre and completely pointless dream like figments of their imaginations and there that's it end of story.

No real meaning behind any of it, no grand or meaningful statement just utter nonsense. The only reason for 3 stars instead of 1 is due to the acting, they all seem like very competent actors but they can only do so much with this.

Skip this movie entirely if you are wanting some druggy teen drama and instead just go watch Human Traffic or even Requiem for a Dream both of which put this nonsense to shame.

A film that feels like it wants to be complex but which is too often reduced to a simple experience by the use of over-familiar scenes, devices and plot lines. Some strong acting helps and the film is saved by swerving away from the expected laddish conclusions into a more satisfying study of the nature and perils of machismo. This, along with Anya Taylor-Joy's performance, allow the viewer to walk away feeling like they have watched a more solid and serious film , but only just.

The people reviewing this with bad reviews clearly missed the point. This is a movie based on the book by Rob Doyle. The book was fantastic and portrays the dark side of early adulthood well. It explores themes such as mental illness in a way that is brutally honest. The movie had to cut out some of that and obviously had to find a way to adapt Kearney's hallucinations. Eoin Macken did a great job making a great book into a movie, especially given the resources and the budget he had to work with. This movie had the potential to be better than it was, but it certainly wasn't horrible. If you're just watching for Anya Taylor-Joy, you won't like the movie. She was a part of this project long before she became famous for her roles in Queen's Gambit or Emma. She certainly isn't the only good part of this film. I highly recommend you read the book, as the movie becomes much more comprehensible once you have.

Engaging story about the dark decent of a group of boys. Some very solid acting from the main cast, especially from Dean-Charles Chapman. You really did believe his character was going through the crisis in the movie. Unlike many other reviewers, I actually enjoyed the absurd meta dream sequences. They were an interesting way to present the themes and troubles of the young men, adding a black humor element. The film was shot was like a music video, with a lot of beautiful effects and vibrant colors contrasting the dark content of violence, vandalism, drug binging, suicide, rape and even murder. Unfortunately, it lacks some more substance into why one of the main characters does what they do. Needed more background and exploration on downward spiral of mental illness and motivation. The film's message gets even more lost towards the last act. Although the story ending was somewhat satisfying, it still left a bad taste. But you definitely can't hate on Chapman for trying to sell the story, fantastic acting. Still worth watching.