Written and directed by Benjamin Howard, the life of a disciplined high school athlete begins to unravel when his queer identity competes against the idea of who he was supposed to be. Starring: Jake Holley, Colin McCalla, Riley Quinn Scott, Connor Storrie, Rib Hillis, J.B. Waterman and René Ashton.
There are many areas of the western world where tolerance, rights and freedoms have improved but there are also some communities which are hesitant to acceptance and sports, particularly in America, still have a lot of progress to make. Having an openly gay, and active, player in the NFL is even now practically unheard of, being a sport intensely fuelled by masculinity.
So, while the players themselves become more accepting, it hasn’t necessarily become a lot easier to be a gay player in such a traditional sport, like football. Therein lies the tale of internalised hate and homophobia that young people struggle with and is the heart of Riley.
It delves into that very relevant idea of pressures and anxieties that we place on ourselves, how we anticipate the hate and turn it inwards, even though the people in your life might be perfectly accepting, if given the chance. It’s classic fear of rejection, one that you would hope we’d have evolved past but will probably still impact several queer generations yet to come.
All of that nervousness, apprehension and worry is encapsulated by Jake Holley’s performance, he gives a very touching and compellingly natural portrayal as Dakota Riley. He’s a tightly wound ball of anxiety, confusion and it’s all compacted by the expectations from his family, friends and teammates, leaving him adrift and restless.
That’s made even better by how Benjamin Howard focuses this story, it’s all about Dakota, there’s a touch of the homophobic undertones of teenage hazing but there’s no hateful or dominating presence. Howard builds a very tense but intimate atmosphere, with a great use of the close-up to reflect Dakota’s feelings of being trapped and labelled. It’s exploring identity and self-acceptance, not necessarily the acceptance of others, as much as that does feed strongly into the character’s motivation.
There’s a great supporting cast to explore the different elements to Dakota’s perspective, from the classic bro best friend in Colin McCalla’s Jayden to the openly gay Liam played by Connor Storrie. Storrie gives a surprisingly tender and extremely empathetic performance, the moments between him and Holley are some of Riley’s most memorable. Riley Quinn Scott nicely rounds out their quartet as Dakota’s girlfriend Skylar, a key piece in his journey of self-discovery.
A lot of that tension is enhanced by the visual work, the cinematography from Michael Elias Thomas gives the aesthetic a nice edge. It still has that every day, high school feel but is elevated just enough to feed into the complexity of the story without becoming too stylistic. It uses darkness to its advantage and while it is slightly disappointing to not see more actual gameplay and experience these characters on the field, it doesn’t take anything away from the film. As well as that you can easily imagine, for an independent film, had they included it, the stretch of the budget might have dampened other aspects of the film.
Riley takes a classic coming out story and further explores the idea of identity and labels, that it’s not black and white, there is fluidity and flexibility to figuring out who you are. Jake Holley leads the way with an intensely sensitive and touching performance. Benjamin Howard’s direction has a great tension and the aesthetic is nicely sharp, making for enthralling viewing.
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