Miles Ahead

I recently saw "Miles Ahead" at the Minneapolis Central Standard Film Festival, held from October 14-17th. This is the most accomplished, heartfelt, and deeply moving independent movie I've ever seen made by a group of novice twenty-somethings. Not only does the film aim for more than the usual offbeat cute romantic comedy or the "I've graduated from college and my life sucks" kind of indie movie this age group frequently makes, "Miles Ahead" uses film as visual medium to get its message across to the viewer making it a sensory experience. While some have noted that the movie "rips off" or "imitates" Terrance Malick, I disagree. In this viewer's opinion, "Miles Ahead" uses its visual in ways found in the best work of Gus Van Sant - particularly in "Gerry" or "My Own Private Idaho"; however, unlike Van Sant, the co-directors of this film have a story/theme that resonates with honesty and emotional heartbreak. The spectacular views of the North Carolina mountains is an added bonus as well. With the movies "George Washington" and "Sinkhole" - both made of alum from the same school as the Miles Ahead team and both filmed in the same North Carolina region, one can only assume that North Carolina is now the home of the best indie regional film-making in the United States. Move over Austin - these filmmakers have REAL stories to tell, and the technical know how to make them both polished and emotional. A must see!

I'm confused. And I think some other viewers are as well.

Although Miles Ahead is not the most riveting film in my movie-going repertoire, I felt towards it as I have towards many European films that are slower-paced: if you just relax and let it play out, your experience will at least be pleasant. In this case, the story lacks much (to say the least), but the pace of the film as paired with the music and scenescape possesses a mesmerizing rhythm. I particularly enjoyed the score, which reminded me of the soundtrack to Monster's Ball, but with more of a playful flare. The cinematography and general production value of the movie was top-notch. I'm not sure quite what happened with the script, but I suspect that that is where the problem(s) originated.

As far as the gay/coming out issues, maybe I -- a true, unabashed heterosexual male creature -- am just not "getting it". Maybe my gaydar is broken. Or maybe I'm just getting old. But I saw nothing in the film that lent to the fact that the two main characters were even remotely gay, much less struggling with acceptance issues in that regard. What I witnessed was the camaraderie between two friends (albeit the most boring interaction). What -- are men supposed to growl in each other's faces or slice the air with swords in order to appear obviously male? Also, I met the filmmakers at the Q&A after the screening and, well guys, I hate burst anyone's hopeful hubba bubba bubble, but those guys are as straight as I am!

Like so many other films whose subjects display such vague colors, Miles Ahead leaves much to the imagination. (But let's not get carried away.) My only wish is that the directors had, themselves, allowed their imaginations to paint the screen a little--- No. Scratch that. ---a LOT more vividly when it came to dialogue and storytelling.

I went into the screening at the local film festival with great hope. I thought here might be a true indie film worthy of our support. I was wrong.

The story is that a teenager who aspires to be a writer and his struggles to deal with the death of a friend. That could make an interesting film, but this is not it. About thirty minutes of screen time is devoted to this kid typing out of ridiculous sentences like "He looks longingly at the memories of his past, unsure whether or not they existed because they have faded" and, get this, browsing books at the college library. Very subtle, guys. The directors need to read more good literature and stay away from the camera for a while.

In the middle of this movie, I turned to a friend of mine and asked her how long this god-forsaken thing was. I was shocked when she told me 80 minutes because I thought we had passed the 2 hour mark long before then.

The entire movie is the exact same scene done over and over. Miles stares out into space. He does it again. And again. How about a few more scenes of depressed staring in case people were sleeping through the last 10? It would have been a lot quicker for the directors to ram a psychiatry book down my throat.

Unfortunately, since the beginning, middle, and end of the script are all on the same sheet of paper, the audience is left guessing at what exactly Miles' problem is (and no, it's not just because of his dead friend- Miles stared out into space from the beginning). Every now and then we a get a break from his depression stares as he writes bad prose on his crappy typewriter.

I don't know what else to say. Writing a review for this movie has been like trying to describe the smell of carbon monoxide- there's nothing to describe because your senses can't detect anything, but it's still toxic.

About 126 minutes into the film I was really wondering when the story might kick in, and then the credits started to roll. I'm incredibly upset by one thing, at no point in my life will I ever get those 126 minutes back. I assume that many years from now I'll be sitting on a death bed wondering where the time went. I can tell you one thing my friends, that time will not be spent on repeat viewings of Miles Ahead.

Poor Miles Davis, that's all I can say. What a disgrace.