Tomorrow's Youth is quiet, dusty, and kind of a bummer

Is it worth a watch?

If you're in the mood for a dusty, black-and-white drama that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, sure. It’s for folks who like those old-school, slightly stagey emotional stories. If you need pacing that moves faster than a turtle in mud, you’re gonna hate it.

There’s a specific scene where the kid is just sitting on a porch, staring into space. The camera stays on him for what feels like a small eternity. You can almost see the gears turning in his head, trying to make sense of why Mom and Dad aren't sitting on the other side of the screen anymore. It’s not flashy, but it’s real enough to make you look away for a second.

Georgie Billings carries a lot of this on his shoulders. He has this way of looking at the camera—or just past it—that isn't overly dramatic like most child actors from that era. He just looks tired. Who wouldn't be?

Bits and pieces

• The dialogue feels like it was written for a play. People talk in these perfectly formed sentences that nobody actually uses.
• Jane Darwell is in this, which is always a treat. She brings a bit of gravitas to a movie that threatens to float away into pure sap.
• The house interiors look so cluttered. It’s like they dumped a whole antique shop into the frame just to fill space.
• There's a moment involving a bicycle that’s so clearly staged it made me chuckle.

Watching this reminded me a bit of the vibe in God of Little Children. Both films have that same heavy, earnest feeling where every line of dialogue is trying to teach you a lesson. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it just feels like being lectured by a grandparent who refuses to stop talking.

The pacing is a bit of a disaster, honestly. Some scenes drag on until you’re checking your watch, and then suddenly, the climax happens in about thirty seconds. It feels like the editors were in a rush to get home for dinner. It’s a bit messy, but that’s kind of the charm.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not trying to be. It’s just a movie about a kid caught in the middle. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you watching, even if the ending is exactly what you expect. The shadows in the hallway scenes are surprisingly moody, though. Whoever was in charge of lighting knew how to make a suburban home feel like a prison. 🏠