Starring: Seth Dunlap, Cristian Gonzalez, Shane Howell, Madison Hatfield
Director: Jono Mitchell
Country: USA
Every year, Miles (Dunlap) and his friends (Gonzalez & Howell) go on a country retreat together. Miles is habitually unpleasant to them, and they never enjoy the trip and can’t explain why they keep going. So wrapped up in his own world, he hasn’t even noticed that these friends have actually been dating for years. This year, the friends have decided to come clean about how they feel to him, except this is also the year that Miles is there to reveal that he is dying of terminal cancer.
Set over the course of a few days in this claustrophobic cabin, each and every one of the trio’s secrets, hurts and anguish is laid bare, with sparks flying between them until the whole weekend ignites.
If the genre “weekend cabin dramas” doesn’t yet exist, then I think it’s time to formally name it. Miles From Nowhere fits neatly within this new genre’s conventions, because there is nothing here that we haven’t seen dozens of times before. An easy script that feels like a play, it follows a conventional structure, is sparse on characters and scant on actual plot.
Miles is a deeply flawed character. Great pain is taken to rehabilitate him with his friends, but more work is needed to do the same with us. He’s self-centred, cruel and blisteringly dislikeable, so when the film heads into its final act and really needs us to care for Miles’ well-being... well... we just don’t...
Miles From Nowhere is a generic film harpooned by its level of character development. With a protagonist that needs reigning in, his shadow dominates the screen to the point that little else gets to see the light of day.
UK Release: Out now on VOD to watch on Dekkoo, released by RoleCall
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