One Square Mile

This film tells the story of a young man who takes up running as a way to get a college scholarship, so he can leave the undesirable social situation he is in.

The story of him forming a bond with a older coach, striving to win could have been touching, but "4 Minute Mile" doesn't achieve the emotional intensity that I hoped for. Mostly it's too do with the ineffective delivery of the plot. I watched the first ten minutes three times but I was still not entirely sure who was who. In addition, how the young man and the coach bond is unconvincing and poorly explained. And I think Cam Gigandet is under utilized in the film. Fortunately Richard Jenkins is there to save the day, but it still doesn't save this film from being rather flat and uninteresting.

This really is not good. At first I thought it was going to be about Pre. Nope. Then it mad me nostalgic for a foreign film (maybe Spanish) I saw 5 or so years ago, called 100 meters. 100 Meters is a MUCH better film. Set your viewing priorities accordingly.

This is a hugely unoriginal story about poor kid with terrible family life who needs to win a scholarship to get away from it, and the once-great record-holder, now bitter, broken old man who sees redemption if he can get this kid across the finish line. Hugely unoriginal. And maybe being in dreary Seattle depressed them all. The acting overall is stoic.

I attended the world premier of 4 Minute Mile, directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud, at the Seattle International Film Festival. I chose to see the film, not only because it was filmed in Seattle, but also because the storyline sounded compelling. The film proved to be more than compelling; it was shocking, gritty, and suspenseful.

A 4 minute mile is difficult for a runner to achieve. Anything is difficult when you lost your father as a child, live in poverty, and have a brother who uses you for illegal drug runs. It's understandable why high school runner Drew Jacobs (Kelly Blatz) has a chip on his shoulder, but he must overcome his anger if he wants to run the mile in under four minutes and receive a scholarship, and more importantly, escape the fate that has befallen his brother.

After being kicked off the track team for having a poor attitude, Drew seems to be spiraling downward, until his neighbor (Richard Jenkins), a former track coach who is struggling with his own demons, mentors him. The two form a special bond and fill a void in each other's heart.

Excellent performances are given by Jenkins, Kim Basinger and Cam Gigandet, but the real surprise is newcomer Kelly Blatz. Virtually unknown, unlike the other actors who were up for the part, Blatz wowed Michaud and the casting director, who decided to take a chance on him, after receiving a very raw, emotional post-screen-test email from Blatz, which brought them to tears.

Although the running sequences didn't make sense geographically to anyone familiar with the Seattle area, it was fun to see familiar sights such as Safeco Field, Garfield High School, and Fisherman's Terminal.

According to the director, the film is a metaphor for how you should live your life: Commit yourself.

4 Minute Mile is available July 1 on iTunes and On Demand, and is in theaters August 1.

This review was originally published on Yahoo! Voices: http://voices.yahoo.com/movie- review-4-minute-mile-2014-12693420.html?cat=40

As a sports film (of which there are many each year, mostly in the B-genre, most you will never hear about) this little gem has more in common with Eastwood's Gran Torino. In other words -- oh this sounds so cliché, but sometimes only a cliché will suffice -- this really isn't a film about winning, or a film about running, but a film about life. Life. The one sport we all have in common. The one sport we compete in each day, whether we want to or not. The 4-minute mile becomes a metaphor for merely living your life with integrity, with impeccability. With its sights set so high, this would be such an easy film to mess up. The balance is so delicate. Heavy-handed direction would make the viewer feel manipulated, or "Disneyed." And too light a touch would miss the mark completely. Canadian director Charles-Olivier Michaud, with very few credits in features, simply nails it. I mean nails it. Pitch perfect direction. About as far from Michael Bay and the Transformers as the Earth is from the Moon. And the cast is uniformly excellent, especially veteran warhorse Richard Jenkins -- who steals his scenes so subtly you don't realize it until the film is over -- and Analeigh Tipton, who has to simultaneously be provocative enough to attract a boy who wasn't looking for a relationship in the first place, yet practical enough to cement that relationship as the seismic tremors in the script come one after another. A gem. A perfect gem.

Who doesn't love a good inspirational sports movie? In One Square Mile we both get and then get beyond the standard clichés of the sports genre to a very good film about running. This is a film with well-judged pace, it doesn't rush and yet, we were absolutely hooked.

The two leads, Kelly Blatz as the kid from the wrong side of Seattle, and Richard Jenkins, as a the washed-up coach are well cast. Jenkins is always the stoic, and here a stoic with curmudgeon, and both keep the film well balanced. The drama elements centered on family are well-handled without feeling tacked on.

Director, Charles-Olivier Michaud, handles the camera with assurance. His team are excellent - this is a very well made film. It has that same quality in use of the camera as Ron Howard: it's there to tell the story and the flow shows. The superbly composed soundtrack by Stephen Barton reflects that this is not a loud film, it has at it center running, training, and the drives of that, and anyone who's ever run will like it a lot.

All in all, one of our favourite films of the year - it has substance, style, and a lot to say about running.

Recommended.