Smart and infectiously charming, this warm and witty American film carries a powerful kick. Based on real events from the filmmaker’s life, it’s comical and dramatic, and features a gay central character. But writer-director Nathan Adloff refreshingly refuses to give in to cliches along the way. “It’s a 1990s period movie,” he laughs, “not just another gay film! Actually, I think it’s a crossover film. It’s a universally relatable story, and the main character just happens to be gay.”
In small-town Illinois in 1999, 17-year-old Miles (Tim Boardman) is just trying to survive his last year in high school before escaping to Chicago. He’s tired of being the only gay in the village, and is desperate for love and sex and a big gay life. Then his father (Stephen Root) dies suddenly, and now he and his mother Pam (the great Molly Shannon) are struggling to make ends meet, let alone save up for Miles to go to university.
The plot centres on Miles’ crazy plan to win a volleyball scholarship, which is complicated by the fact that his school only has a girls’ team. Coach Leslie (Missi Pyle) decides that it’s time to challenge the rules, so puts him on the team. And there’s one more hitch: when parents of opposing teams begin to complain, the school superintendent who will need to rule on Miles’ eligibility is Lloyd (Paul Reiser), with whom Pam has found a connection in a grief counselling group.
While these story strands feel a bit neat and tidy, Adloff never pushes anything too far. Thankfully, he keeps the tone loose and lively, focussing on the journey this clever, likeable young man is taking into discovering who he is and how far he’s willing to go to be himself. The volleyball story may be the film’s central plot line, but Adloff is quietly undermining this with a complex exploration of how hard it is to stand up to people who think they know what’s best for you.
Boardman is superb in the role, engaging and smiley but deeply determined as well. And he gets very strong support from Pyle as a woman who won’t give up without a fight. But the surprise here is Shannon, who brings real pathos to her character as a woman who resists taking on the system, especially when her potential new romance clashes with her son’s future. It’s in the relationship between Miles and Pam that the film becomes something extraordinary, as a loving mother and independent-minded son struggle to find their way.
In other words, this is a rare film that finds deep resonance in everyday, real events without ramping them up into something over-dramatic. Indeed, Adloff says that he wanted to make a new type of LGBTQ movie. “Rather than focussing on a coming-out story,” he says, “I believe that the most relevant next step for a film with gay lead characters is to not feel like a ‘gay film’ at all. This movie is not just about a boy playing on a girls’ sports team; it’s a love letter to unexpected childhoods.”
He goes on to say that the film’s message to young people is: “Just stay true to yourself and find the people that hold you up. Everyone around Miles was telling him to take an easy path and stick around. But the film reminds us that it’s important to make your own way. Trust your gut and fight against the grain if you need to.”
****
Miles is out now on DVD and VOD from Matchbox.
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