500 Miles

This is a well written, directed and produced Aussie film worthy of accolades. The story, written by Jennifer Coghlan and Terrance M. Young, take us on an inspiring journey of a troubled teenage girl living in today's modern and somewhat confusing times, which then takes a turn in her life for the better. We empathize with her whilst she takes to road to self discovery, along the way she meets people who each have their effect on her emotional growth. I highly recommend this film. On the technical aspects, it was very well produced - superb and natural acting by Ebony Nave as Emily and Pete Valley as Shane, carry the story of two souls from worlds apart as they intersect. Supported by beautiful cinematography by Patrick L. Coe and Matthew E. Taylor, this film is as visually beautiful as the story is.

When someone says to me, lets go watch a movie, my immediate reaction is: OK, who's in it, what's it about, and who directed it? In the era where movies have a seemingly limitless budget, oozing with incredible c.g.i and actors so well primped and preened they look like they just stepped out of a Mattel factory, it is also rare for these said movies to have a storyline longer than four sentences, that isn't adapted from a previously made 90's movie, a book, or a superhero comic.

Although 500 miles is not a Hollywood blockbuster, it is definitely this - an honest reflection of Australian culture, a solid, well thought out story that is well portrayed, plotted and directed, and characters that many of us would either relate to, or want to hug.

It's not a big budget, and like every film, it has elements that weren't perfect, but overall, this had my full attention from start to finish. I am excited to see what else is in store from this production team in the future, if this is only the beginning.

There are quite a few movies out there about troubled youth, some more accurate than others. This one is exceptionally accurate. The story follows Emily, a girl who is forced to deal with things she doesn't know how to deal with emotionally, who meets the wrong people at the wrong time and ends up being very disconnected from the world around her. Rather than following her 'fall from grace' like many other movies have done, this movie skips ahead to a later stage in the life of one who got lost. She's at the point where her life has already fallen apart and she decides to just run away from it all. This allows the story to deal at length with finding her way back, rather than hastily going over that part of the process.

From a very early point in the movie onward, the strongest aspect of the movie becomes crystal clear: The director and the female lead are masterful at breathing life into a character who is terribly out of place in the world, who lost her ability to re-connect with it, and any of the happiness it could have brought her. You can SEE the inner dialogue going on inside the mind of Emily, written on her face. You can see how the appearance of this girl doesn't fit with the people around her, and how neither she nor those people, know what to do about it. That is, until she meets the male lead, who acts differently from the other people in her life. To it's credit, the story leaves it open for a good while why he's willing to help her. This puts the viewer in the same position as Emily, not knowing if he's helping her, or just trying to hit on her, or something else. And even though he seems happy-go-lucky, that just makes it harder for Emily to connect with him, because she is anything but happy-go-lucky.

I won't give away how things pan out, but I can tell you that the story doesn't pull it's punches. It will play a little with the standard story telling structure to play with your expectations near the end, which is a most welcome thing in a time when a lot of writers follow the standard story formulas religiously. The weak point of the movie is, in fact, the one time where I feel the story was indeed trying to follow standard story telling structure regardless of what that would mean for the realism of the characters. I don't want to give away what happens, but odds are you'll recognize it when you see it.

Showing how hard it is to allow positivity back into a negative life is very difficult to pull off because most of that happens in someone's thoughts and feelings. The directing, and acting of the female lead does this extremely well. That alone is enough to make this movie good. It allows the story to be told well in spite of a relatively low budget. If a movie can make you not too concerned with things like lower quality sound because it tells it's story well, someone is doing something right.

Keep a close eye on the future efforts of the lead actress, Ebony Nave. She has what it takes.

I feel a little biased, writing this review. Being a long-time friend of writer, Terrance M. Young, I've had the privilege of watching him grow as a director and writer. Film after film has taught him valuable lessons which he's taken on board with his next projects.

I always go in, not knowing what to expect, but with the knowledge of his prior work. I always find myself surprised with the result. Every time. The quality, the audio, the camera shots and angles, montages and story lines, all seem dramatically improved from his past works. It's wonderful to see.

Other than my connection with Terrance, I knew relatively nothing about the film and again, didn't know what to expect when the lights went down.

500 Miles was brilliant.

It was deep, shockingly raw, heart breaking, heart warming and funny.

Shane's character felt like home. He was someone who I feel like I've known for years and years. I just loved everything about him.

Emily had me frustrated. I had a love:hate relationship with her. I got so frustrated at her stubbornness and refusal to open up. She really was a very very hard egg to crack, and in turn, it made it very hard for me to connect with her until much later in the film. But, as the movie progressed, you find out what DID happen to her, to make her the way she was. What I did like, was that she began to open up and (without giving anything away) she got hurt again, and completely shut off, and returned to the character we saw at the start. Shut off, angry, stubborn and she runs again.

Michelle's character seemed a little 2D. She seemed awkward and had little confidence. Her character could have been far more genuine, and we could have connected with her more. Instead of being a warm, bubbly, friendly country girl, I'm sad to say that I saw her more as bitchy and jealous and I really don't think that that's how she was meant to come across.

I really loved that the movie was filmed in and around Brisbane. The country towns were awesome.

Overall, 500 Miles was a wonderful Australian film.

My husband isn't a move buff AT ALL. He went into the movie not knowing what to expect at all and even he loved it. He said he was on edge for the majority of the movie. He has an annoying habit of predicting exactly what would happen in a movie and then nodding off to sleep. He was really surprised that this movie kept him guessing what would happen the entire way.

Well done, again and again on a wonderful Australian Indie film. Bring on the festivals. I really think that this movie has the potential to go far, and the story is captivating and keeps you on the edge of your seat, unable to guess what would happen next.

500 Miles is an emotional Australian drama that captures the essence of what it feels like to be truly lost, and found again. The two lead characters created some beautiful moments in this film, and their emotions were often portrayed with just a look or a pause. As Emily and Shane's back stories slowly unfold, these moments became more profound as the film went on and there were a few lines spoken by the characters at the half way point that revealed their thoughts on life that took you outside of the plot, and into your own self as a human, and these were some of my favourite moments. The lead actors really embodied their characters without too many words, right from the moment they were first seen on screen.