Miles tells a story of a boy who joins an all girls volleyball team in high school so that he can get a scholarship to go to college. As an indie film, this one cuts into our emotions as we see Miles (Tim Boardman) deal with the struggles of a typical coming-of-age story. All of the cast does a fantastic job in acting their part and Boardman displays his capabilities as a great teenage actor. Also, Molly Shannon once again creates acts a part that seems all to familiar for her as a somewhat depressive mother of a teenager. This movie gives us a genuine feeling of what the director coped with in his life. After the film, director Nathan Adloff discussed that this film was a bit of an exaggeration of his own childhood. That being said, most of the film feels pretty realistic with its upsides and downsides.
My main problem with this film is the average tone it portrays. Not only does Miles have a typical story arc of almost every indie coming-of-age film, but it also never seems to delve into certain issues. There is never the character breakdown that I am hoping to see. Without a further journey into the emotions of each character, I never felt like I truly cared about anything going on. I applaud the originality of the events in the story, but overall the narrative just falls short. This film could have been an ace if only so many others had not preceded it. Maybe if movies like The Kings of Summer, The Spectacular Now, or Boyhood had not already been made then this movie would not have felt like such a bore.
The Bottom Line: If you feel like you must watch every indie coming-of-age film, then I would direct your attention to this one. Just keep in mind that there is not much being added to the genre with this single film.
Score: 5.5/10
Shoutouts: Quick shoutout here to Josh Okrent and/or Amalia Williams for the first donation to the site!
Image Credit: http://www.getmovieposter.com/wp-content/uploads/getmovieposter_miles_1.jpg
My main problem with this film is the average tone it portrays. Not only does Miles have a typical story arc of almost every indie coming-of-age film, but it also never seems to delve into certain issues. There is never the character breakdown that I am hoping to see. Without a further journey into the emotions of each character, I never felt like I truly cared about anything going on. I applaud the originality of the events in the story, but overall the narrative just falls short. This film could have been an ace if only so many others had not preceded it. Maybe if movies like The Kings of Summer, The Spectacular Now, or Boyhood had not already been made then this movie would not have felt like such a bore.
The Bottom Line: If you feel like you must watch every indie coming-of-age film, then I would direct your attention to this one. Just keep in mind that there is not much being added to the genre with this single film.
Score: 5.5/10
Shoutouts: Quick shoutout here to Josh Okrent and/or Amalia Williams for the first donation to the site!
Image Credit: http://www.getmovieposter.com/wp-content/uploads/getmovieposter_miles_1.jpg
