Barbie Ferreira is a highly talented actress who is not well-known to many people. She first appeared on people’s televisions in a mainstream way when she was cast in Sam Levinson’s infamous high-school drug series starring Zendaya, Euphoria (2019). While her time on the show started strong, Levinson’s mistreatment of Ferreira’s storyline in Season 2 led to her departure from the show. Next, she had a small but memorable role in Jordan Peele’s sci-fi thriller, Nope, in 2022. Three years later, Ferriera has finally found a multi-faceted lead role worthy of her talent in Chandler Levack’s second feature film and TIFF premiere, Mile End Kicks.
Canadian writer/director Chandler Levack first made her mark on cinema in 2022 with her debut hit film, I Like Movies—a high school coming of age film set in the early 2000s, starring Isaiah Lehtinen, as an introverted but passionate 17-year-old obsessed with all things film. Like every great directorial follow-up film, it’s essential for there to be a distinct evolution in the filmmaker’s ability, especially since Lehtinen appears in this next feature, and Mile End Kicks is an excellent second outing for Levack, even if it isn’t as tight as I Like Movies.
It would have been interesting to see Levack branch out further from her first movie, as Mile End Kicks is most definitely still a coming-of-age dramedy like I Like Movies. Still, her decision to focus on someone in their 20s and the subject matter that change entails is what levels her up as a more mature filmmaker.
Mile End Kicks transitions Levack out of the early 2000s and into the early 2010s, and from the movie scene to the Montréal punk rock music scene. The film follows Ferreira as Grace, a young music critic tired of writing for a douchy, male-centric indie publication, who decides to risk it all and move to Montréal for the summer after getting a coveted book deal in the 33 1/3 album exploration series. With strong emotional ties to Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill,” Grace chooses this acclaimed album as her subject matter.
From there, Grace settles into her new Montréal apartment quite quickly, befriending her new roommate, played by Juliette Gariépy, and attending loft parties where she meets and becomes romantically entangled with two members of a local indie band, Bone Patrol. As expected, this new love triangle is incredibly distracting for Grace and her writing, especially since one of the most essential summer bucket list items is to have sex that she actually enjoys.
Ferreira masterfully balances her comedic acting chops with her dramatic skills to pull off Grace’s desperate attempts at flirting, which are instantly hilarious and endearing. More than that, Ferreira can completely shift dramatic gears and dive even deeper into Grace’s past traumas without altering the tone of the movie as a whole, which is no easy feat.
When it comes to Grace’s past, that’s where the film explores some deeper themes, allowing for both Ferreira and Levack to flex their more nuanced muscles. Some might say the movie didn’t need to explore these difficult subject matters, but I believe Mile End Kicks is all the better for it.
That being said, Mile End Kicks isn’t a perfect film and is somewhat messier than I Like Movies. Though I can excuse the messiness to the complexities present in this film that weren’t present in Levack’s first film, it’s hard to defend how predictable Mile End Kicks can be. The Montréal music scene setting is undoubtedly unique, but not much else is. Even with all of the complex and interesting storylines Laveck introduces, she isn’t able to craft a narrative that audiences haven’t seen play out countless times before. Specific story beats come across as repetitive, which leads to some uneven pacing.
Overall, Mile End Kicks is a warm and engaging rom-com that succeeds where many movies like it falter: in making its lead a real, flawed person with conflicting dreams and desires. It’s crystal clear that Chandler Levack prioritized fleshing out Grace’s life, allowing Barbie Ferreira to make the character feel so lived-in over anything else. The result is wonderful, and I know both Levack and Ferreira will only level up from here.
Review Courtesy of Ethan Dayton
Feature Image Courtesy of TIFF