If anyone hasn't heard of this movie before, Giant Little Ones, I'm just going to say it now, I definitely recommend you watch it. This 2018 coming-of-age film follows the story of Franky Winter, played by Josh Wiggins, as he moves through some very confusing and difficult situations resulting from his 17th birthday party. Without giving too much away too quickly, Giant Little Ones discusses so many topics that a lot of people go through, from sexuality, sexual exploration and rape. Of course, let's not also forget the beautiful cast that portray these storylines so effectively: Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Kyle MacLachlan, Maria Bello and Niamh Wilson, to name a few.
Now, let's really get into what this movie is all about and why it is so needed... (SPOILERS AHEAD).
It's not many times that you can say each character in a movie has a really crucial contribution, for Giant Little Ones you can. I sat and thought about each character introduced throughout this film and honestly every person had a reason to be there and educated the story through what they did. An obvious place to start is the beginning of the movie with the main characters Franky and Ballas. Franky and Ballas show their deep connection as friends pretty much straight away and we see how happy they are. The day moves through their normal lives as we say hello to more and more significant characters and then it's Franky's birthday party night. *Queue the typical American house party scene* Then of course everything changes.
Even for the audience it is pretty confusing as to what happens on that dark, drunken night between Franky and Ballas but by the way Ballas runs out of the room, we can speculate it is something intimate and something very queer. From that moment it is clear to see their friendship won't pick up where they left it. Ballas has a girlfriend, get's very scared about what he had done, as many people do, and turns the story around to show him as the innocent, heterosexual guy while highlighting Franky as the homosexual influence. Then, because high school is so amazing and safe and accepting of everyone ever, the gossip spreads to everyone... Franky can't do much about this though and, although he too is scared about what this all means, the movie shows him dealing with what is going on.
Now, unlike other movies you have seen with outing and sexual adventures with the same sex, this movie isn't about either of the main boys actually being gay and living happily ever after together. I'm sure they do have a nice life, hopefully, but Giant Little Ones is a film about not needing to know your label right away and being okay to just attract to who you will at this time. Franky's dad is a gay character that didn't figure out his sexuality until very late in his life, which is okay. His storyline is very important as it shows the influence he has on his son. A very touching scene leaves Franky feeling really good with who he is and chooses to be right now. Ray, his father, explains to him that there is no rush in labelling your sexuality and to just allow himself to learn and follow his heart with whoever. To me, this was a huge turning point for Franky and I think a great message for everyone.
In fact, Franky has great parents all round, even though I think he taught his mother more than she might admit. When the news breaks out about what went down with Franky and Ballas, we could say literally, his mother brings up the conversation, which to me, is amazing in itself. She then normalises the situation, or tries to, by stating she thought sexual experimenting was what all the kids did. This is why I think her character is so important because she does struggle with her husbands sexuality at first but then talks about how it is okay to experiment. Which is so true! Experimentation is completely normal and common as you grow up. It's also never a question of if she accepts him or not, she just does.
Another reason why this movie is so vital for young lives, and older, because it shows that experimenting sexually is a part of figuring out who you are and, in my opinion, should happen more often. By showing such experimentation in film, acceptance of that experimentation in life can happen. It is okay.
Sexuality isn't the only topic , as I said above, there is also a big emphasis and rape and consent. Taylor Hickson, the main reason I watched this film to begin with not going to lie, plays a really heartbreaking yet necessary character, Natasha. In the beginning of the movie we see "Tasha" stood at her locker, visibly a victim of bullying with the word 'slut' graffitied on her locker. We know already something significant is happening with her story... It isn't until everything happens with Franky that we realise what this is.
She opens up and we find out she is a victim of rape at a party Franky was supposed to meet her at. It didn't go too much into detail because she couldn't quite remember the event but we do see how much it has hurt and has effected her as a person. It broke her in a way. From my perspective, it was so well done because we don't get too focused on the actual horrific event but we do see how much it has changed her life. We do see how our actions can hurt other people. Which may be what this movie is all about....? In terms of consent, Tasha talks to Franky about how she may never want to be sexual ever again or for a long time yet. They have a very important open conversation about how it is her choice AND THAT'S OKAY! Franky then asks for consent to kiss her. BEAUTIFUL! Can everyone just like learn from this movie or..?
As for what happens at the end, guess you'll have to watch it!
What we can take from this movie is that we need to stop judging people based on what they choose to do sexually with consent. As we grow up we are faced with a lot of questions that are very confusing to figure out, as long as we do have consent, it doesn't matter how we figure that out to anyone else other than the people involved. It also doesn't need to be a rush for labels or clarification. We are attracted to whoever we are attracted to.
Giant Little Ones says it the best:
LOVE WITHOUT LABELS
LIVE WITHOUT REGRETS.
WATCH THE MOVIE!
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