Giant Little Ones

The first great drama of 2019, "Giant Little Ones" is a lovingly made film about growing up, starting to discover yourself, and realizing there are no easy answers to any of it. It's a film about accepting yourself for the place you're at and not feeling the need to rush to put yourself in a box. It's sweet, heartbreaking, and altogether real.

Written and directed by Keith Behrman, the film centers on Franky Winter (Josh Wiggins) and his best friend Ballas (Darren Mann) navigating high school in a small suburban town. Both members of the swim team, they face the usual travails of teenage sexual desire, drinking, and the casual homophobia so often accepted in a typical American high school. Neither one identifies as gay, and while Ballas is actively having sex with his girlfriend, Franky is trying to figure out when he and his girl can finally do the deed – although he is never really concerned when their plans get diverted.

One night, after Franky's birthday party, the two friends find themselves engaging in a sexual liaison, causing Ballas to freak out and leaving Franky confused. Their friendship is immediately strained, and before long Ballas has let on that Franky made moves on him and is gay. Franky doesn't feel like he's gay, but is more confused as to why his best friend would lie about the incident and cause him emotional turmoil. So while Franky has to deal with the kids at school thinking he's something he doesn't identify with he starts to fall for Ballas' sister Natasha (Taylor Hickson), who has suffered bullying and trauma of her own. That all said, he is clearly uncertain about his feelings for Ballas and what happened between them.

As for the parental figures, Franky's mom Carly (Maria Bello – also an executive producer) is trying to get back into the dating scene after a divorce from her husband Ray (Kyle MacLachlan), who has come out as gay and is living with his boyfriend. This "betrayal" has created a rift with Franky and Ray, even though Ray thinks he might be of use considering what is going on. In fact, he has one of the best lines of the film: "It sounds like you had a sexual experience with someone you really love." No judgement. No labels.

The acting here is wonderful, with the three main leads (Wiggins, Mann, and Hickson) delivering natural human performances that make the film soar. The script deals with complex emotions, and each of the actors nail these moments – sometimes without even a line of dialogue. It's not an easy task, but they each prove they have long careers ahead of them.

Which is the beauty of this film. There are no answers to anything here. It presents a situation and shows the human reaction to it all. Is Ballas hiding in the closet? Maybe. Is Franky gay or bi? Perhaps. But they are young. There is no timeline to figure out who you are, and Behrman's script reflects that. All the while, the superb cinematography, tenderly directed moments, and terrific score by Michael Brooks ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower") have created a quietly perfect film that will stay with you long after it ends.