Giant Little Ones

I mean everything. With great performance from all not-so-known actor/actress, great telling about sexual experimentation, and even all relationship between character are so real, that you can imagine. Between their family problems clash with sexuality of the teenager and the parents, what a good blend to tell a nowadays problems.

SYNOPSIS: Franky (Josh Wiggins) and Ballas (Darren Mann) are popular high school swimmers and are also best friends. After sharing an intimate act together at a party when everyone left, Franky is left questioning his sexuality as Ballas slanders Franky to other students.

REVIEW: A hidden gem is exactly how I'd describe this film. Came out very early in 2019 and for some reason no one was talking about it. It wasn't marketed much at all. In fact, I only saw it because one day I decided to check my theater that gets independent films early sometimes and I watched the trailer to this.

This coming-of-age film is really grounded and touches on sexuality in a very sincere a real way. I'm heterosexual, however, I've had gay friends and I've heard plenty of stories of how people are treated when coming out. I loved the dynamic of Franky having this sexual act with his friend and still denying being gay. I feel that's a very real thing. Also, having gone a few years hating his father for leaving his mother after revealing himself as homosexual. Then still having a hard time having the courage to go to his father for advice. Josh Wiggins is incredible at playing this character and really emulating someone going through an incredibly tough and confusing situation while also being very young and KYLE MacLachlan was great as his father. You also see how his best friend handles the situation, which is by slandering Franky in order to save face. A very toxic way to handle this, but it was also believable to me to see this exterior "alpha" feeling the need to survive in his environment and prove to still be "strong" due to the mis-directed thought that you can't be yourself and be strong at the same time. I truly hope that more people end up seeing this film one way or another. If you're reading this... it's not too late. I don't care what drake says. Go see it. 8.3/10.

In his 1948 study "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," Dr. Alfred Kinsey reported that everyone is bisexual to one degree or another and that this can be measured on a scale from 0 to 6. While sexual fluidity has grown in acceptance, it has not yet been explored in film to any great degree. Canadian director Keith Behrman's Giant Little Ones, however, in his first film since his 2002 indie "Flowers and Garnet," celebrates the complexities of life and relationships in the story of popular teenagers Franky Winter (Josh Wiggins, "Walking Out") and Ballas Kohl (Darren Mann, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" TV series). Best friends since childhood, their relationship is severely tested when they engage in oral sex after heavy drinking at Franky's 16th birthday party, an incident that leads both to question their orientation.

The experience, which would normally be quickly buried, is inflamed when a fearful Ballas, hearing rumors and worried about having his masculinity challenged, betrays his lifelong friendship with Franky, spreading stories around the school that Franky was responsible for what occurred. The seduction scene is shown so quickly, however, that it is uncertain as to what actually took place. All we see is a darkened room and the movement of bodies under a blanket. A confused Franky becomes the target of abuse from his classmates, abuse that threatens his self esteem and puts a damper on his relationship with his girlfriend Cil (Hailey Kittle, "Falling Water" TV series), who had expected to lose her virginity on the night of Franky's birthday party.

The only support he finds is in his sweet relationship with Ballas' sister Natasha (Taylor Hickson, "Everything, Everything"), whose own experience of bullying left her fearful of becoming close with another person. Franky's struggle for self-acceptance is also helped by his humorous relationship with Mouse (Niamh Wilson, "Saw V"), a trans friend who is there for more than comic relief. She personifies for Franky what it means to own one's sexuality and not be overburdened by what others think about her. Also lending support is Franky's father Ray, (Kyle MacLachlan, "High Flying Bird") who left the home to move in with another man.

Protective of his mother Carly (Maria Bello, "Lights Out") and resentful of his father's sudden departure, it requires a long time for Franky to be willing to allow Ray to support him, but eventually, in a scene made real by MacLachlan's compassion and Wiggins raw sensitivity, a deeply-felt conversation takes place and is one of the film's high points. While Giant Little Ones succeeds in moving the needle in a positive direction, it nonetheless falls prey to some of the more clichéd aspects of the coming-of-age genre such as high schools filled with affluent, white students, actors who look closer to thirty years old than fifteen, stereotypes of alpha male high school jocks, and a host of badly undeveloped peripheral characters.

The heart and the message of the film, however, transcend its limitations. Franky's growing ability to just be himself without having to fit into a rigid category is an important one and, to its credit, it is an ambiguity that Behrman does not find it necessary to clear up. Like the poet Charles Bukowski, Franky could say, "Something in me relaxed, smoothed out. I no longer had to prove that I was a man. I didn't have to prove anything." Like a rocket in a fireworks July, the flares that Franky and Natasha fire into the sky do not soar upwards in a straight line but bend in noticeable arcs before bursting into a bright red flame.

This is a very well made, well cast film. The main subject is adolescence, and how painful it can be. While most of the reviews here seem to be wholly focused on the sexuality aspect, it is also largely about how teens navigate the ebbs and flows of their social relationships, both with their peers and with their parents. Sexual experimentation is on view, to be sure, as is unchecked homophobia and the havoc it can wreak. The film presents no easy resolutions to the problems encountered along the way. Just like real life.

... but one that shifts the perspective sufficiently to make it a refreshing take on an often overcooked theme. It's also believable and doesn't rely on melodramatic effect to present adolescence and the wide range of maturities young adults portray. Some excellent acting by some talented future stars, as well as those more established, makes this film well worth your time and attention.