500 Miles, the “powerful” drama starring Bill Nighy and Maisie Williams, is now available to watch in the UK. Boasting a “memorable” story and a stacked cast of British talent, this is one you’ll want to see on the big screen.
The film is based on Mark Lowery’s 2018 novel Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home, and follows two young boys who go in search of their estranged grandfather (played by Nighy), who is living on the west coast of Ireland.
Directed by Morgan Matthews from a screenplay by Malcolm Campbell, the coming-of-age drama is now playing in cinemas across the UK, having been released in Ireland last month.
True Brit Entertainment
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In addition to Nighy and Williams, the latter of whom portrays the friendly Kait, the cast for the film includes Dexter Sol Ansell, Ronan Griffin Davis, Clare Dunne, Michael Socha and Loré Adewusi.
Though not widely reviewed by critics, 500 Miles has been generally praised by critics thus far, with four of the five reviews listed on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes being designated with a ‘fresh’ rating.
“The story unfolds at an engaging pace, expertly edited with just the right number of flashbacks to show how far the characters have fallen from their once-happy lives,” noted Film Ireland, who called it “powerful and memorable”.
“Nighy, Williams, and the two young leads are the power station that keeps everything motoring along. They just about rescue 500 Miles during one or two dud notes between the first act’s cheeky-scamp humour,” opined Irish Independent.
RTÉ was also full of praise in a five-star review, writing: “500 Miles is pacy, the two young stars are a perfectly cast double act, and in its widest-eyed moments, it captures the freewheeling fun of being a kid.”
True Brit Entertainment
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Ahead of the film’s release, Williams spoke exclusively with Digital Spy and explained their decision to go all-in on recreating an Irish accent, sharing: “Kait is so outgoing, darkly funny and witty – and that can only come from a place of confidence.”
“If I was tentatively tiptoeing around an accent, it would lessen the performance. I felt the need to do the accent all the time, which is kind of embarrassing, but it was really helpful,” added the star, who is also known for Game of Thrones.
500 Miles is in UK cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.