Some parents like to point to us that the younger years of our lives before we become adults are the best years we're ever gonna experience because after that, it's all about pressure, demands and things we won't fulfill exactly like we intend to. Life is thrown back at us and even with some good outcomes it'll never be the ideal you search for unless you follow a certain designed path, and there's always concerns about the matters of who you are and what society expects you to be; and it involves the things you can control - the dreams and careers you want to follow - and the things you cannot, usually the ones you are born with it - race, sexuality, behavior and so forth. "1:54" deals with that intersection of things and how the youth years sometimes are more burdened than the adult period. It's an awakening that comes too soon and few of ones cannot deal with it completely, for lack of understanding it or lack of power to endure what comes our way.
High school years, the toughest period that Tim (Antoine Olivier Pilon) has to face. At one time a great runner, now a shy chemistry buff that doesn't have many friends except for Francis (Robert Naylor), constantly bullied by colleagues, and also facing many challenges of his own when it comes to discovering himself and what he wants from life. He loves his friend but doesn't know exactly how to demonstrate it, quite unsure of the actual reality of being gay - despite Francis seems to be open about the issue with himself, to which we learn in the hard way when confronted by the bullies. Avoiding spoilers here, but due to a turn of events Tim regains back some confidence, rejoins the running team led by his supportive teacher in order to surpass the mark established by a powerful rival (Lou-Pascal Tremblay) and run to national competitions. And another harsh turn of events comes his way, one that will push him against his limit and one where he has to decide what truly matters to him.
I liked "1:54" because it moved me in all the expected and unexpected ways, talking about things that are real without adding excessive fictional or unrealistic situations. Here's a movie about bullying, its everlasting effects, cause, effect and possible reactions. Above that, we have a coming-of-age story about a lone kid who managed his best to deal with those obstacles at the same time fighting himself for not knowing how to deal and express his desires, and accept himself. In our current times, it's easy for many in the audience point out that things aren't so hard, gays and lesbians get more acceptance even in school years but that's not the fact; and the ones in the LGBTI community tend to skip films like this because it's all about old traditions of sad portrayals that doesn't provide any hopeful outcome. Both groups are wrong. Things aren't so bright and colorful since a lot of teens and even adults face rejection, aggression and similar, and films like this one shouldn't been avoided due to its nature, even though if your reality is different from the main character. Projects like this exist to inform, to make us analyze and reflect about existing realities; and in a higher degree, to make us ask ourselves in what ways we would react if facing situations like the ones faced by Tim and his friend or even those around them.
But it's hard to agree with everything the director/writer presented to us. For a moment, I wanted a different and more positive experience for Tim, and just when I thought the film was going to give me that, it made him regress all the way back to shame. Just one shred of principle for the boy, and I'd enjoyed the film a little more. He acts in defiance, fights back his rival at some points, even impress the crowd with a spare of the moment move towards a girl, but the boldness in acting with decision towards a crucial moment wasn't found and the movie lost the opportunity to tell a story about bravery, overcoming the test life gives you and just not care about what the outside may think. That's what missed here and blocked the film in becoming something of more priority today.
Antoine Olivier Pilon delivers another great performance, if you don't know the name yet but remember the face it's because of "Mommy". Unlike the bipolar Steve, his Tim character is someone more controlled, just bursting into a whole set of emotions when something bad comes his way. The discussion with his teacher on the hallway and the intimate attempt he makes to his sleepy friend are some of his greatest moments; but his reaction during one of the most dramatic moments was strangely wrong and unbelievable - in that scene, I wanted more from him. But he delivers something special with his acting, just as much as the whole casting, they were great, not one wrong performance in here.
Overall, it's a very good film despite its bumps on the way but it deals with poignant themes and flows in a nice progression, very engaging and of great utility. 8/10
High school years, the toughest period that Tim (Antoine Olivier Pilon) has to face. At one time a great runner, now a shy chemistry buff that doesn't have many friends except for Francis (Robert Naylor), constantly bullied by colleagues, and also facing many challenges of his own when it comes to discovering himself and what he wants from life. He loves his friend but doesn't know exactly how to demonstrate it, quite unsure of the actual reality of being gay - despite Francis seems to be open about the issue with himself, to which we learn in the hard way when confronted by the bullies. Avoiding spoilers here, but due to a turn of events Tim regains back some confidence, rejoins the running team led by his supportive teacher in order to surpass the mark established by a powerful rival (Lou-Pascal Tremblay) and run to national competitions. And another harsh turn of events comes his way, one that will push him against his limit and one where he has to decide what truly matters to him.
I liked "1:54" because it moved me in all the expected and unexpected ways, talking about things that are real without adding excessive fictional or unrealistic situations. Here's a movie about bullying, its everlasting effects, cause, effect and possible reactions. Above that, we have a coming-of-age story about a lone kid who managed his best to deal with those obstacles at the same time fighting himself for not knowing how to deal and express his desires, and accept himself. In our current times, it's easy for many in the audience point out that things aren't so hard, gays and lesbians get more acceptance even in school years but that's not the fact; and the ones in the LGBTI community tend to skip films like this because it's all about old traditions of sad portrayals that doesn't provide any hopeful outcome. Both groups are wrong. Things aren't so bright and colorful since a lot of teens and even adults face rejection, aggression and similar, and films like this one shouldn't been avoided due to its nature, even though if your reality is different from the main character. Projects like this exist to inform, to make us analyze and reflect about existing realities; and in a higher degree, to make us ask ourselves in what ways we would react if facing situations like the ones faced by Tim and his friend or even those around them.
But it's hard to agree with everything the director/writer presented to us. For a moment, I wanted a different and more positive experience for Tim, and just when I thought the film was going to give me that, it made him regress all the way back to shame. Just one shred of principle for the boy, and I'd enjoyed the film a little more. He acts in defiance, fights back his rival at some points, even impress the crowd with a spare of the moment move towards a girl, but the boldness in acting with decision towards a crucial moment wasn't found and the movie lost the opportunity to tell a story about bravery, overcoming the test life gives you and just not care about what the outside may think. That's what missed here and blocked the film in becoming something of more priority today.
Antoine Olivier Pilon delivers another great performance, if you don't know the name yet but remember the face it's because of "Mommy". Unlike the bipolar Steve, his Tim character is someone more controlled, just bursting into a whole set of emotions when something bad comes his way. The discussion with his teacher on the hallway and the intimate attempt he makes to his sleepy friend are some of his greatest moments; but his reaction during one of the most dramatic moments was strangely wrong and unbelievable - in that scene, I wanted more from him. But he delivers something special with his acting, just as much as the whole casting, they were great, not one wrong performance in here.
Overall, it's a very good film despite its bumps on the way but it deals with poignant themes and flows in a nice progression, very engaging and of great utility. 8/10
