The Youth in Us

USA - 2005

Every once in while on WTTW’s Image Union (the long-running half-hour short film showcase) you come across a real gem. In this case, the jewel is The Youth In Us, and the good news is, you don’t have to TIVO Image Union (which I recommend) to see it, since director Joshua Leonard has constructed a modest website to share his work. Leonard, an actor who is best known (apparently) from The Blair Witch Project (the only human image that sticks with me from that film involves a flashlight and snot), shows talent with this 2005 short, his first directing gig. However, it is the writing and cinematography that make The Youth In Us stand out among the large population of short films that are made and never seen.
While short form cinema allows for multiple viewings, good short form cinema encourages it. On first blush here we have an intimate conversation between two kids in love, played with impressive restraint by Lukas Haas (Brick, Last Days) and Kelli Garner. However, both the structure of the script and its attention to detail produce one of my favorite cinematic experiences: the multi-layered reveal. Even though your brain will begin to untangle its mistaken assumptions after the “Oh” moment in the film, the second viewing provides an entirely different take on the same words. I love that. And while the writing keeps your interest, it is the photography which initially grabs it, using overexposure and color saturation to great effect. While not without flaws, The Youth In Us is a substantial little film.

CAST
Lukas Haas ... Jack
Kelli Garner ... Alicia
Nathan Norton ... Young Jack
Mariah Bess ... Young Girl
Directed by Joshua Leonard