Bad Land: Road to Fury

In this speculative drama set in the near future, rainfall is virtually unheard of, water is extracted from the ground like oil, and small farmers face a desperate battle for survival. Michael Shannon's remote holding is now dry as dust, and he clings on by supplying a nearby water-drilling operation with illicit booze, all the while trying to keep daughter Elle Fanning out of the grasp of her scheming bad-boy boyfriend Nicholas Hoult. With its combination of wild-west frontier settings, gnarly familial tensions, and an intelligent take on the likely integration of robot technology into everyday lives, this ambitious effort from writer director Jake Paltrow (Gwyneth's younger brother) has a lot going for it - except a compelling central storyline. As the original US title Young Ones suggests, it's actually the less-interesting junior cast members who grab most of the limelight, rather than the ever-watchable Shannon, and anticipation dissipates as the narrative wanders hither and thither. It's intermittently arresting but ultimately exasperating.