500 Miles was a mystery showing and was one of the rare ones where I hadn’t managed to guess. The clue they gave was….
‘The Lone Wolf dies but the pack survives’
This was one that I knew nothing about and didn’t even know it existed. Usually there are films that I am aware of because I have made a guess but with 500 Miles I didn’t even see a trailer.
The set up of the film is that we follow Finn and Charlie as they sneak out of their house and go on a 500 mile trek to see their estranged grandfather. The mom and dad are separating which is what seems to spur Finn and Charlie on their adventure. Along the way they meet Kait and the reason for the estrangement is that Charlie died in an accident on the granddads boat and the mom and dad blame him for it. I will be honest that I didn’t see the twist coming. I always think this is a good thing because if the film is keeping my attention then I don't have enough time to figure out what the twist is. I suppose you could say it's obvious when it's revealed and there are moments which would give this away but as I was involved in the story, there wasn't enough time for me to think about this.
This is another film where the scenery is stunning. If it were just a standard road trip movie then I would have been happy cause the locations were stunning. Even drab city centres were made to look nice but once they get into Ireland and closer to the granddad's home the landscape just gets more and more pretty.
Performance wise, no one lets the side down. Saying Bill Nighy gives a great performance is like saying Tuesday follows Monday or night follows day. As the grandfather, I liked him immediately and when it is revealed the guilt that he is carrying, I liked him even more. It was an accident and he didn’t know that Charlie had undone the life jacket but then its easy to understand why the mom and dad feel the way they do. That is the skill that Bill Nighy has as an actor. It’s great to see Roman Griffin Davis in something again. I (like most) first saw him in Jojo Rabbit and its great to see him take on this sort of role. I last saw him in The Long Walk and he seems to be able to pick out great roles. As Finn, he is a likeable big brother and I think that he does a great job of not giving the twist away too soon. Once the twist is revealed, his performance becomes heartbreaking because you know he blames himself for Charlie’s death. I don't think I have seen Maisie Williams in anything since Game of Thrones ended so it was nice to see her pop up as Kait and she is the support that Finn needs in the story with her own issues. She did get to deliver a line about everything being in Irish because 800 years of imperial rule did make me chuckle.
Despite not being in the film as much, I thought that Clare Dunne and Michael Socha were very good as the mum and dad. From the beginning there is something off about their relationship besides the dad moving out and when the twist happens it is nice to see them come together to try and get to Finn. Considering he is just a ghost, Dexter Sol Ansell gives a great performance as Charlie. He is the charming little brother and his death is made all the more powerful when you think about the friendship that Finn and Charlie have.
Had the film just been a road trip movie then I would have still liked this movie but with the twist I liked the film even more. This was genuinely one of the best surprises of the year. What also made the experience good was that there weren’t any walkouts like there usually are in a mystery screening. I think that whilst I enjoyed the movie very much, this is going to be one of those films where I would have to be in a certain mood to want to watch it. The second half is too downbeat to want to watch this with your mates on a Friday night.
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