I heard about this Canadian gem a few years ago when it appeared on the festival circuit. Getting funding to make a film is a difficult task for many independent producers regardless of geography. Artists searching for funding in Canada face a monumental challenge. And if you're not in Toronto or Vancouver, it's damn near impossible! Regardless of how good your script is, unless you have a history or a name attached to your project, forget it. There isn't enough support for indie producers in Canada, which is why many beg, borrow and even steal to get their film made.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Canadian films for this very reason. I'm adding this preface to my review because for a Canadian indie film, without a known director or actor attached, to make it to Cannes and TIFF (that, I think many would agree, are prestigious film festivals) is virtually unheard of. Clearly, then, there's something genuinely good about this movie.
I enjoyed the interaction between the three main protagonists, although much of it seems ad-lib and not scripted, it fits nicely. It's genuine. It works. It seems less like a movie and more like I'm standing nearby watching this story unfold in person. Whether it was on purpose or not, it's brilliant. I felt for, and understood, the characters: the quiet introvert Adam who is clearly more comfortable in his skin around his lifelong friend, Taylor (a girl, but not his girlfriend); the bad boy Nate (a character I despise), whose jealousy of Adam becomes quite evident in one of the best scenes in the movie; and the unsettled Riley, who is trying to be a good kid but seems to fall victim to the antics of his cousin, Nate.
The three boys spend the summer in "small town Ontario" doing what kids in small towns do during the summer: cause havoc and occasionally break the law (glad to see things haven't changed much since I was a kid). Much of the story follows Adam (Jackson Martin) and his budding friendship with Riley (Reece Moffett), a bond that Nate (Nick Serino) quickly grows jealous of. Nate and Riley are family, but is blood really thicker than water when it comes to the Sleeping Giant? The answer becomes regrettably clear.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Canadian films for this very reason. I'm adding this preface to my review because for a Canadian indie film, without a known director or actor attached, to make it to Cannes and TIFF (that, I think many would agree, are prestigious film festivals) is virtually unheard of. Clearly, then, there's something genuinely good about this movie.
I enjoyed the interaction between the three main protagonists, although much of it seems ad-lib and not scripted, it fits nicely. It's genuine. It works. It seems less like a movie and more like I'm standing nearby watching this story unfold in person. Whether it was on purpose or not, it's brilliant. I felt for, and understood, the characters: the quiet introvert Adam who is clearly more comfortable in his skin around his lifelong friend, Taylor (a girl, but not his girlfriend); the bad boy Nate (a character I despise), whose jealousy of Adam becomes quite evident in one of the best scenes in the movie; and the unsettled Riley, who is trying to be a good kid but seems to fall victim to the antics of his cousin, Nate.
The three boys spend the summer in "small town Ontario" doing what kids in small towns do during the summer: cause havoc and occasionally break the law (glad to see things haven't changed much since I was a kid). Much of the story follows Adam (Jackson Martin) and his budding friendship with Riley (Reece Moffett), a bond that Nate (Nick Serino) quickly grows jealous of. Nate and Riley are family, but is blood really thicker than water when it comes to the Sleeping Giant? The answer becomes regrettably clear.