Giant Little Ones

... but one that shifts the perspective sufficiently to make it a refreshing take on an often overcooked theme. It's also believable and doesn't rely on melodramatic effect to present adolescence and the wide range of maturities young adults portray. Some excellent acting by some talented future stars, as well as those more established, makes this film well worth your time and attention.

In his 1948 study "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," Dr. Alfred Kinsey reported that everyone is bisexual to one degree or another and that this can be measured on a scale from 0 to 6. While sexual fluidity has grown in acceptance, it has not yet been explored in film to any great degree. Canadian director Keith Behrman's Giant Little Ones, however, in his first film since his 2002 indie "Flowers and Garnet," celebrates the complexities of life and relationships in the story of popular teenagers Franky Winter (Josh Wiggins, "Walking Out") and Ballas Kohl (Darren Mann, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" TV series). Best friends since childhood, their relationship is severely tested when they engage in oral sex after heavy drinking at Franky's 16th birthday party, an incident that leads both to question their orientation.

The experience, which would normally be quickly buried, is inflamed when a fearful Ballas, hearing rumors and worried about having his masculinity challenged, betrays his lifelong friendship with Franky, spreading stories around the school that Franky was responsible for what occurred. The seduction scene is shown so quickly, however, that it is uncertain as to what actually took place. All we see is a darkened room and the movement of bodies under a blanket. A confused Franky becomes the target of abuse from his classmates, abuse that threatens his self esteem and puts a damper on his relationship with his girlfriend Cil (Hailey Kittle, "Falling Water" TV series), who had expected to lose her virginity on the night of Franky's birthday party.

The only support he finds is in his sweet relationship with Ballas' sister Natasha (Taylor Hickson, "Everything, Everything"), whose own experience of bullying left her fearful of becoming close with another person. Franky's struggle for self-acceptance is also helped by his humorous relationship with Mouse (Niamh Wilson, "Saw V"), a trans friend who is there for more than comic relief. She personifies for Franky what it means to own one's sexuality and not be overburdened by what others think about her. Also lending support is Franky's father Ray, (Kyle MacLachlan, "High Flying Bird") who left the home to move in with another man.

Protective of his mother Carly (Maria Bello, "Lights Out") and resentful of his father's sudden departure, it requires a long time for Franky to be willing to allow Ray to support him, but eventually, in a scene made real by MacLachlan's compassion and Wiggins raw sensitivity, a deeply-felt conversation takes place and is one of the film's high points. While Giant Little Ones succeeds in moving the needle in a positive direction, it nonetheless falls prey to some of the more clichéd aspects of the coming-of-age genre such as high schools filled with affluent, white students, actors who look closer to thirty years old than fifteen, stereotypes of alpha male high school jocks, and a host of badly undeveloped peripheral characters.

The heart and the message of the film, however, transcend its limitations. Franky's growing ability to just be himself without having to fit into a rigid category is an important one and, to its credit, it is an ambiguity that Behrman does not find it necessary to clear up. Like the poet Charles Bukowski, Franky could say, "Something in me relaxed, smoothed out. I no longer had to prove that I was a man. I didn't have to prove anything." Like a rocket in a fireworks July, the flares that Franky and Natasha fire into the sky do not soar upwards in a straight line but bend in noticeable arcs before bursting into a bright red flame.

Its basic virtues - the performances, the dialogue, the build of story. And the realistic portrait of teenagers. The vulnerabilities, the ambiguities, the selfishness and self discover, the characteristics of relations, the love levels, the fair perspective about thrill and seduction, the public image, the parents and the fight to be yourself, the incident and real life and, not the last, the perfect music. A film about a state of soul.

This film tells an engaging story of two teenage guys. I like Natasha as well, she's really sweet. The ending is quite open ended though, I would have liked more closure.

Unsentimental and smart portrayal of what happens in your upper middle class suburb when your alpha bff and high school swim teammate gets wasted one night and goes down on you, and you're pretty much ok with it but he can't deal with it. No maudlin cliches here, no soft core exploitation. The boys (20-ish performers playing 16 - 17) are preternaturally beautiful and very good actors, and that is enough -- intelligent suggestions of sex, locker room nudity, etc keep us in the story, and serve to evoke in us a sense of the reality of lust and sexual tension better than any literal exhibition of their flesh, or graphic erotic simulations ever could -- while at the same time the film is not at all coy about the fact that it is about the vagaries of adolescent attraction, both physical and emotional. It's kind of like an extended DeGrassi episode minus the lovable stupidity, and with a high degree of realism. This is evolved, aware film making -- not epic in scale like BROKEBACK, it only plays a few notes, but plays them very well. The actors never fail us -- the leads as well as those playing the parents and siblings, who thankfully are fully realized and have their own individual character arcs. Josh Wiggins in the lead, suggests a mix of young DiCaprio and young Matt Damon in looks, skill, vulnerability and honesty. Darren Mann as his troubled friend alternately broods and explodes like a young Brando. The two convey a deep, unexamined connection, fueling the action of the piece. A seasoned Kyle MacLachlan as an estranged gay dad mines subtle acting gold from an almost too-saintly deus ex machina voice of reason role. Everybody is good in this, without exception. All that and a comic nonbinary pal struggling to find the perfect prosthetic to stuff in their pants . . .