4 Minute Mile (2014) User Reviews

4 Minute Mile Wows Audiences at the Seattle International Film Festival

[MaryS-333 · 7/10 · 16 June 2014]

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

Slow but Effective

[dansview · 7/10 · 27 December 2014]

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.

Unexpected

[cumberbatchv · 7/10 · 8 August 2014]

I anticipated this being a typical, high school sports movie and was geared up for that sort of simple entertainment. Some aspects remained typical: conflict in the protagonists' life stemmed from family, some sort of important death would occur that would make him want to win more, and that the protagonist had a bit of a temper. HOWEVER, the two major unexpected aspects of this film is what pushed me to give it a 7 and not a 5, which I rate as a film that's just average in all ways.

The way in which Coleman died was thoroughly unexpected for me and I was shocked! Which I appreciated because I had no real emotional ties to the film until that point. Secondly, the fact that Drew never even made that last state championship meet was a perfect choice for the script and again, I was pleasantly surprised. I figured he would somehow make the meet by the skin of his teeth, and because it's a movie, he would not only be warmed up to race but also win for Coleman!

The subtle creation of a relationship with Lisa was a nice touch. Their low key love never distracted from the point of the film, but I do think it added to the tone of learning patience and understanding that it's all a process.

In another random side note, as a former 4X4 sprinter that was just as averse to moving up to the mile as Drew, I truly believed in the dedication and passion that was perceived as being a high school athlete. When you're banking on yourself to get an athletic scholarship, and it's just you and the clock, not you and a team backing your skills, you HAVE to be all the things that Coleman tried to teach Drew. I respect the ending of the film, where it's up to the viewer to decide the outcome of the D1 championship because you want to believe that Drew has taken those lessons in and is not only a great runner, but a quality man. At the end of the day, this film is more about learning to navigate life as opposed to just high school athleticism.

emotionally flat

[Gordon-11 · 19 September 2014]

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.

A good story of sport and self-improvement.

[zutterjp48 · 7/10 · 4 July 2020]

Drew Jacobs lives really a hard life, he lost his father, he lives in poverty and besides has to make illegal runs for his brother Wes.He has been expulsed from the university relay team.Other side Coleman is observing all the competitions and has noticed that Drew has a talent for running a one-mile distance.At the beginning Drew suffers very much, because Coleman gives him hard duties, running in the water, looking for a tire under the water.But Coleman wants to show him what means patience and tenacity.Besides this hard training Drew met Lisa, a student who practices also athletics and they become first friends (he got a black eye for definding her in her birthday cerebration) and fall in love together. A good story about patience, tenacity and self improvement. About performances, Richard Jenkins no needs any presentation, he is really a very good actor,Kelly Blatz is excellent in his role of Drew and Analeigh Tipton is also excellent in her role of Lisa.

I'm a sucker for films about track, but

[daddysarm · 6/10 · 10 April 2023]

This really is not good. At first I thought it was going to be about Pre. Nope. Then it mad me nostalgic for a foreign film (maybe Spanish) I saw 5 or so years ago, called 100 meters. 100 Meters is a MUCH better film. Set your viewing priorities accordingly.

This is a hugely unoriginal story about poor kid with terrible family life who needs to win a scholarship to get away from it, and the once-great record-holder, now bitter, broken old man who sees redemption if he can get this kid across the finish line. Hugely unoriginal. And maybe being in dreary Seattle depressed them all. The acting overall is stoic.

WAX ON. WAX OFF.

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 13 September 2018]

The movie was originally titled "One Square Mile" which made more sense than PLOT SPOILER "4 Minute Mile" as no one actually runs a four minute mile in this film. Drew Jacobs (Kelly Blatz) likes to run, his dad OD, his brother (Cam Gigandet) deals drugs, although not very good at it, and mom (Kim Basinger) tolerates it all.

Drew leaves the HS track team because he doesn't like the coach and can't handle the kids calling his brother a loser. The film moves on to the "Karate Kid" formula as the neighbor (Richard Jenkins) takes him under his wing and teaches him to run using semi-unorthodox training techniques. Drew has a female interest in Analeigh Tipton and a rival in Whitehall.

This is a movie for those who like those "Lifetime" films. Family drama outweighs much of the story. Not much action. And no four minute miles.

Parental Guide: No F-bombs, sex, or nudity.

Chariots on empty

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 17 August 2016]

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.

rare entertainment, no pretentiousness, no agenda, only pure film-making

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 2 July 2014]

As a sports film (of which there are many each year, mostly in the B-genre, most you will never hear about) this little gem has more in common with Eastwood's Gran Torino. In other words -- oh this sounds so cliché, but sometimes only a cliché will suffice -- this really isn't a film about winning, or a film about running, but a film about life. Life. The one sport we all have in common. The one sport we compete in each day, whether we want to or not. The 4-minute mile becomes a metaphor for merely living your life with integrity, with impeccability. With its sights set so high, this would be such an easy film to mess up. The balance is so delicate. Heavy-handed direction would make the viewer feel manipulated, or "Disneyed." And too light a touch would miss the mark completely. Canadian director Charles-Olivier Michaud, with very few credits in features, simply nails it. I mean nails it. Pitch perfect direction. About as far from Michael Bay and the Transformers as the Earth is from the Moon. And the cast is uniformly excellent, especially veteran warhorse Richard Jenkins -- who steals his scenes so subtly you don't realize it until the film is over -- and Analeigh Tipton, who has to simultaneously be provocative enough to attract a boy who wasn't looking for a relationship in the first place, yet practical enough to cement that relationship as the seismic tremors in the script come one after another. A gem. A perfect gem.

Not an original moment to be found.

[wow88 · 2/10 · 12 January 2015]

How does this type of drivel get made? Who sits down and decides to create something so cliché? Every single character was a cliché. Who enjoys this kind of predictability? Couldn't the writer have come up with even one original character? Maybe this is the world of talentless cookie cutter people that surrounds him. None of the relationships in the film would ever exist because people just don't behave this way to each other. Someone explain why he would listen to his brother when he acted like that? When coach said wax on wax off was the most enjoyable moment because I had been saying it to myself the entire film and I found something to laugh about. If you want to see a much better version of this film watch the Jerico Mile with the amazing Peter Strauss.

570th Review: Instant Classic: Kid's Gotta Run. Has-been Trainer, Good Drama, Great Sport

[intelearts · 8/10 · 2 July 2014]

Who doesn't love a good inspirational sports movie? In One Square Mile we both get and then get beyond the standard clichés of the sports genre to a very good film about running. This is a film with well-judged pace, it doesn't rush and yet, we were absolutely hooked.

The two leads, Kelly Blatz as the kid from the wrong side of Seattle, and Richard Jenkins, as a the washed-up coach are well cast. Jenkins is always the stoic, and here a stoic with curmudgeon, and both keep the film well balanced. The drama elements centered on family are well-handled without feeling tacked on.

Director, Charles-Olivier Michaud, handles the camera with assurance. His team are excellent - this is a very well made film. It has that same quality in use of the camera as Ron Howard: it's there to tell the story and the flow shows. The superbly composed soundtrack by Stephen Barton reflects that this is not a loud film, it has at it center running, training, and the drives of that, and anyone who's ever run will like it a lot.

All in all, one of our favourite films of the year - it has substance, style, and a lot to say about running.

Recommended.

A fine if very common root idea, sullied by unconvincing writing, direction, and acting

[I_Ailurophile · 4/10 · 12 November 2023]

It doesn't necessarily speak to the overall quality of a picture that we can recognize the entirety of its thrust within the first few minutes; there's no rule that says different filmmakers can't try their own hand at familiar stories. What that does mean, though, is that as viewers we will be more prone to seeing weaknesses in material we effectively already know, and especial strengths will be all the more important to help a title stand on its own feet. As the minutes tick by in this '4 minute mile' we discern characters, dialogue, story ideas, and scene writing that we've seen before (I'm so close to being able to specifically name a few movies, they're right on the tip of my tongue); we also see the familiar faces of Richard Jenkins and Kim Basinger. We get some dialogue that is intended to be inspirational, or helpful training tips, and mildly achieves that goal; some comes across merely as empty bloviating. Still other instances of dialogue are instead just laughably bad; it turns out my thirteen-year old niece was right on the money, at least in part, and nowhere is the dialogue worse and more unintentionally funny than when characters wax poetic about how beautiful running is.

There came a point when I glanced at the digital timer and noticed that the flick was about two-thirds over, and unfortunately, as I was still waiting for an especial strength to manifest, I realized at that point this just wasn't going to happen. We get notes of tragedy, light humor, heavy drama, violence, triumph, romance, yada yada yada. There's nothing emphatically wrong with any of it; there's nothing really good about any of it, either. Protagonist Drew is upheld as being a very promising runner, but at no time in the script do we see enough of that potential for his obstacles to mean anything to us; he comes across as a nobody who could have maybe been a somebody but instead continues to be a nobody. Basinger is an unconvincing set piece; Jenkins flounders and can't sell the part of a retired coach that life has beaten down who nevertheless tries to inspire Drew. Wes is just a rancid jerk, Drew tries extra hard to be a jerk, and despite being only a pretty face Lisa might have the most personality of any character here. Despite the slight variation in mood mostly the tone here is so thoroughly sullen that it's like we're watching a sports drama interpretation of the Grim Dark ethos that has largely defined DC Comics' cinematic output.

I blame director Charles-Olivier Michaud for the dreary tone and unimpressive acting; I blame writers Jeff Van Wie and Josh Campbell for that poor dialogue, and for a story that feels blocky, blunt, and straightforward. There is no arc in any capacity, nor any progression from A to B; characters' attitudes flip, and ideas, characters, and beats are introduced, with the suddenness of a rabbit doing a binky. Even through to the end it quite seems that ideas are just being splattered willy-nilly across a canvas instead of applied in delicate, thoughtful strokes, let alone meaningfully blended together. The climax is the one point where it seems that '4 minute mile' comes nearest to firing on cylinders, including the acting - it took nearly ninety full minutes, but hats off to Basinger, Kelly Blatz, and Lio Tipton - and some post-rock chords in Stephen Barton's score. By that point, though, it's hard to care, and the scene as it presents just feels a tad overdone. All told I don't think this flick is wholly rotten, but it simply isn't very good in any regard. For those distinct faults and shortcomings that come across, on the other hand, as far as I'm concerned this slips to below average. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, and I see the value it could have had. I also firmly believe that whatever it is you want out of '4 minute mile,' you'll find it elsewhere in higher quantities and with better quality.

Smaller independent film of a runner with inner demons.

[TxMike · 28 December 2014]

We were able to watch this movie on Netflix streaming. From the brief description I figured I would like, and I found it to be even better than my expectations.

Set and filmed in the Seattle Washington area, it features a high school boy who has always been fast, and wants to be the fastest 400M runner on his team. But he has issues, mostly stemming from an abusive and no good older brother. When he has issues with the track coach he drops off the team. But someone tells him of an older coach that may be able to help him.

The older coach uses unusual methods, seemingly unrelated to running fast. It turns out he is testing the boy, to see if he has the patience and the guts to take instruction and give it his all. They even use the old "wax on, wax off' reference. And, the old coach wants him to run the mile, not the 400 meters.

The boy is Kelly Blatz, about 26, who plays Drew Jacobs. Blatz was an all-star high school athlete and looks very comfortable in his role as a runner. The old coach is Richard Jenkins who once again takes a generic role and makes it special. Also good is Analeigh Tipton as Lisa, also a runner and with eyes for Drew.

As the story unfolds it is made clear several times that what they are doing isn't so much about winning races on the track but clearing out your inner demons so that you can accomplish what you want.

A very special small film, never dull and always enjoyable, and with a few surprises.

SPOILERS: Drew's brother is getting drugs from some thugs, and Drew is expected to carry drugs and money back and forth by running with a shoulder bag. There is a showdown of sorts at Drew's home, the old coach sees it and calls cops, but he is accidentally shot and dies. The brother and other thugs end up in prison, and even though Drew had not won the regional mile race to go to state finals, on his own he ran his mile in 3:57 as we see in parallel the state championship race won in 4:03. And as the movie ends we get a short feel-good scene of one year later and Drew is lining up at the start of a college race.

Unsure if a True Story!

[davyd-02237 · 5/10 · 12 August 2019]

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