The Young Unknowns (2000)

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.

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