Finn (Roman Griffin Davis) and his younger brother Charlie (Dexter Sol Ansell) have run away from home. They have a plan: travel from Sheffield to the small seaside town of Dingle, Ireland, to reunite with their estranged grandfather (Bill Nighy) in a bid to bring their family back together.
“If you asked me where we were happiest, I’d say here, in Dingle. I suppose I thought it would always be like that,” Finn (Roman Griffin Davis) narrates at the beginning of Morgan Matthews’ tender road-trip tear-jerker 500 Miles (which, despite the title, is not a Proclaimers musical á la Sunshine On Leith). It’s easy to see what Finn’s getting at: when we meet them in a flashback, it’s a picture-perfect day for Finn and his family, sharing special moments on the beach with his grandparents, playing boules and building sandcastles.
Those moments are just a memory. In the present day, Finn and Charlie (Dexter Sol Ansell) no longer have a relationship with their grandfather (Bill Nighy, who tells us everything we need to know with his eyes). Their grandmother has passed away, and their parents are constantly bickering. Sneaking out of their home, the brothers decide to embark on an ill-advised road trip, from Sheffield to the west coast of Ireland, to track down their grandfather and reunite the family. Their journey won’t be an easy one, as they’re too young to travel without adult supervision, and Matthews’ clever framing reminds us how vast the countryside is, hills and mountains dwarfing their small frames. Their journey gets a surprise assist from Kait (a lovely Maisie Williams), who they meet on a train while she is busking.
There’s a wonderfully authentic relationship between Finn and Charlie at the heart of 500 Miles.
There’s a wonderfully authentic relationship between Finn and Charlie at the heart of 500 Miles. As Finn, Davis is terrific, continuing to impress after his breakthrough performance in Jojo Rabbit. Ansell, best known for his role in A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, is delightful as Charlie, managing to toe a tricky line of feeling both larger-than-life and authentically grounded. It’s always a risk to anchor your film on child performances, but Finn and Charlie’s brotherly love is likely to remind you of your relationship with your own siblings.
The film hinges on a reveal that, once unveiled, shifts everything into a new perspective. Whether it works for you will likely define how you feel about the movie: if you’re averse to heavy doses of sentimentality, then you’ll probably wind up annoyed. And this film is drenched in sentimentality. But while 500 Miles can feel cloying and heavy-handed — a relentless, overbearing score doesn’t help — it’s hard not to be moved by it, thanks to the wonderful work of its two leads.
Though 500 Miles tries too hard to wring tears from your eyes, knockout performances by the film’s two young actors sustain this emotional and surprising road trip.