Franky (Wiggins) and Ballas (Darren Mann) are BFFs, living the dream teenage life. Both popular at school, they ride their bikes through the suburban streets of their nuclear-family neighborhood, party, get into fights, shoot off flare guns and talk about sex – your typical teenage boys, on the brink of adulthood. While Ballas is more of a jock, not to mention sexually experienced, Franky’s just about to pop the cherry with his girlfriend Cil (Hailey Kittle) – when, lo and behold, he and his buddy end up entangled in each other’s arms on the night of Franky’s 17th birthday.
Confused and desperate to reaffirm his sexuality, Franky helplessly watches his friendship become more and more strained, as rumors spread and his popularity dissipates. “I’m not queer,” he states, not quite convincingly. Before he knows it, Franky’s become a total outcast, bombarded by toxic masculinity and consequently bonding with another reject, Tash (Taylor Hickson). Franky’s relationship with his divorced parents also comes into play. His father Ray (Kyle MacLachlan) left his mother Carly (Maria Bello) for another man a while back. Franky ultimately (spoiler alert!) forgives and reconnects with Dad.
Kudos to Wiggins for avoiding all the potential pratfalls of playing a “teenager on the brink of self-discovery.” Sensitive and charismatic, both hot- and level-headed, the actor speaks volume with one piercing gaze. The rest of the cast keeps up, especially MacLachlan, who imbues a terrific father-son bonding sequence towards the end of the film with real gravitas.
“…gently explores the nuances of sexuality, avoiding straightforward answers.”
Behrman gently explores the nuances of sexuality, avoiding straightforward answers. Even in today’s purportedly “accepting” society, we still have a long way to go. “I thought it was socially acceptable these days for kids to experiment,” Carly says to emphasize this point. What’s most interesting is that beneath the “gay themes,” Giant Little Ones can also be seen as a study of how quickly a social status can disintegrate, with one tiny straw breaking a gargantuan camel’s back.
Sure, the film may lack some real “probing,” and by that, I mean deep philosophical insight with which, say, Guadagnino imbued every sexually-charged scene of his film. Another niggle I have is that the entire cast of characters is composed of affluent white people – in a film that deals with exclusion, would it not be more interesting to have protagonists of different ethnicity that don’t necessarily live in three-story mansions?
That said, Behrman sidesteps overt sentimentality, captures some heartrending moments and most importantly, doesn’t resolve everything with a neat “happily ever after” conclusion. The lasting impression Giant Little Ones casts may not be “giant” – but it’s certainly not “little” either.
Giant Little Ones (2018) Written and Directed by Keith Behrman. Starring Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Kyle MacLachlan, Maria Bello.
7 out of 10
I feel like the remark about diversity is a little uncalled for. Many movies have many themes, and it can sometimes be a bit much to take in for someone who often watches LGBT/Coming of Age movies such as myself. As a proud gay African American, I have no problem with the way the movie was set up. It was completely different than what I am used to seeing. Especially for something of this calibre coming from North America. Behrman hit the nail on the head spot on because although the media would have you believe otherwise (meaning the real life doesn’t always work in such away), coming out and being discriminated against for things such as sexuality are still very present and very damaging to one’s reputation/emotional psyche. He even painted the concept of internalized homophobia in a perfect light, because Ballas is the epitome of not having the courage or self esteem to own up to who you are. I have been waiting since it’s initial release back in mid to late 2018 to see this movie. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Expectations were exceeded, even. And if I could change anything about this film it would be that the antagonist would have learned his lesson. But again, the real life doesn’t always work like that.