Miles From Nowhere
**Seen at the 2022 Atlanta Film Festival.
If there is one thing that is authentic about Jono Mitchell’s “Miles From Nowhere,” it’s that friendships as adults are difficult. Really, they shouldn’t be, but the more you learn about yourself, I feel like the more you are willing to keep in, because you feel like the time has to be “just right” for such discussions. Some people certainly go in the opposite direction, and share as much about themselves as they can, and I think most people get to that point, as well. But communication with even those you hold closest is on a spectrum, and it’s not unusual to go months, or even years, not talking. That’s the nature of life.
The screenplay for this film by Mitchell, Alexander Baxter and Madison Hatfield sets up a familiar story- three friends get together in an isolated setting, and secrets that change their entire ideas about each other are revealed. Miles (Seth Dunlap), Victor (Cristian Gonzalez) and Sammy (Shane Howell) haven’t seen each other since their last weekend at Miles’s family cabin last year, and it almost seems like they haven’t really talked since then, either. All three have been busy with their lives- for Miles, it’s a cancer diagnosis that makes him think he won’t be around for another one of these trips- and big changes in their lives which will come out over the weekend. Will they still be friends by the end of the weekend? Will they stay the rest of the weekend? That’s why you watch the movie.
In the age of social media, it’s easier to go a while without talking to people, because you can still keep up with them online, and no, not everything is going to be shared, but one can still tell the highs and lows people go through. I think part of why “Miles From Nowhere” doesn’t work is that, if this is an annual thing, I just have a hard time thinking these three would be basically radio silent on the secrets they’ve kept. Wanting to talk about them in person is one thing; just not even hinting at them in any way, shape or form before this weekend feels bizarre, especially given how close these three are supposed to have been over the years. Given the written description of the plot, one would suspect what’s being revealed isn’t major life news, save for Miles’s cancer diagnosis, but little things that make us question the nature of the friendships these three have. Giving Victor and Sammy reveals of the same magnitude as Miles’s is a miscalculation, and the reactions make all three people highly unpleasant to be around for 79 minutes.
The most honest moments in this film are between Miles and his sister (Madison Hatfield). This feels like a fully-formed relationship and dynamic between these characters, and she isn’t afraid to call her brother out on his bullshit. I feel like there’s a real story to be told between these two, rather than between Miles and two “friends” who have seemed to grow apart from each other, and might be better without one another.
