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.

4 Minute Mile is a plodding unoriginal drama although it does make a reference to The Karate Kid at one point.

Drew (Kelly Blatz) is the headstrong teenager who is a good sprinter. His father died when he was a kid, his older brother is mixing with drug dealers and gets Drew to do some literal running for him and his glamorous mother (Kim Basinger) seems not to care that her sons could be descending down the crime ladder.

Drew comes to attention of an alcoholic, loner coach Coleman (Richard Jenkins) who suggests he moves up to running the mile and gets Drew involved in a tough training regime which also involves sanding a boat, pushing a tyre underwater and sometimes coming out with sage like advice which Drew listens to or ignores depending on his mood.

Their is a potential love interest for Drew but a heavy cloud hangs over his brother and his fractious relationship with the drug dealers which you will guess will play a pivotal role in the final act.

This really is a trite film lacking any resonance, it looks cheap and features a bland performance by Blatz, an excellent performance by Jenkins and a minor appearance by Basinger.

Yes there were the standard clichés of high school underdog athlete from the wrong side of town. But there were enough fine qualities to this film to overcome stereotypes of the genre.

The outcome was realistic and that's refreshing. I've never seen the lead before, so I was able to believe him as the character without thinking of him as an actor from some other film.

No one was over-the-top. That's a big plus too. The gangster was pretty ordinary, the brother sleepy for the most part, the girl quiet and real, and the mom subtle and resigned. I've seen Richard Jenkins do these parts before, so I would have preferred someone else, but nevertheless, he did a decent job.

I totally get the message on a personal level. I have never been able to break through to that level of personal commitment required for greatness in anything. This kid had to.

Nice cinematography, adequate use of emotional music without being obnoxious. But this is a dark, slow film and it requires a special degree of commitment to stick with it. Not unlike that required of a long distance runner.

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

It isn't made clear in the version that I saw that this is a true story....the runner comes from a family with a "low life brother" who has even "lower life friends" and a mother who seems very distant. His coach spends most of the film "in a bottle" and the drama of the "tragedy" only comes with 9 minutes of the film remaining. I don't see much in this to entertain given that's its unclear if the "hero" of the film actually really achieves anything in life. If you have other things to do, it may be better than watching this, although to be fair to Ms Basinger she still looks great heading into 60years of age