Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict
The Story:
Giant little Ones is a teen coming of age drama that deals with homophobia. It’s about Franky (Josh Wiggins), a high school student whose parents divorced when his father (Kyle MacLachlan) came out of the closet. While Franky’s sister, Deanne (Olivia Scriven) maintains a relationship with their father, Franky can’t bring himself to visit or even talk to him.
Both Franky and his best friend, Ballas (Darren Mann) are on the high school swim team. Ballas is a bit of an instigator and often gets them into trouble. While Franky is still a virgin, Ballas frequently boasts about how much sex he has with his girlfriend.
One night Franky and Ballas are out drinking, smoking weed, and carrying on. They crash at Franky’s place, and something happens beneath the sheets. Ballas rushes out of bed, gathers his clothes and leaves.
The next day Franky tries to talk to Ballas about what happened, but Ballas is cold about it and says things are fine. As the day goes on, Franky finds out that Ballas is telling everybody that Franky tried to give him a blow job. The rumors get out of hand, and everybody starts believing that Franky is gay despite Franky denying it.
Even Franky’s lesbian friend, Mouse (Niamh Wilson), tells him to accept that people know he’s gay and own it.
Franky is left to deal with being ostracized on his own until Ballas’ sister, Natasha (Taylor Hickson), reaches out to him. And Natasha, who is also an outcast, is the sole person who doesn’t label Franky as gay. And since Natasha and Franky are judged unfairly, they use that judgment to bond and heal.
Giant Little Ones has a couple of twists that I don’t want to ruin, so I’m going to end the plot portion of the review here.
Some Thoughts:
Giant Little Ones starts off slow and is a bit confusing when the pivotal bedroom scene happens under the covers, with the viewer unsure about what happened. From there the intricacies of the story unfold, revealing a more brutal side of growing up and discovering yourself.
There are some harsh moments in Giant Little Ones, along with some parts that are truly heartbreaking and tender. Natasha, who uses alcohol to suppress the pain of having been sexually assaulted, is one of the more tragic aspects of the film. Hickson gives a nuanced performance that’s authentic and makes Natasha a sympathetic character. The truth of her dialogue comes out in the way she moves and how she speaks.
As Franky, Wiggins does a great job portraying a young man torn between standing up for himself and being loyal to an old friend. And when he’s confronted about being gay, he denies it and rushes off, refusing to look the other person in the eye. Wiggins is a natural actor who makes us believe that he truly is the confused teenager on the screen.
Both Hickson and Wiggins are natural actors that bring a depth to the story when they’re on screen together. And they are the reason Giant Little Ones works.
Final Verdict:
In the end, Giant Little Ones isn’t about whether or not Franky is gay, but how society is quick to label a person. I can’t think of many films that explore this territory, and Giant Little Ones does it well.
Although Giant Little Ones starts off a bit shaky, it hits the road running once it finds its legs. Solid direction and some really good acting from Taylor Hickson and Josh Wiggins make this movie more than just a teen drama. And people expecting the run of mill gay coming of age story will be disappointed, for Giant Little Ones is more than meets the eye.
You can see Giant Little Ones on Amazon Prime.
