Parents' Guide to

1 Mile to You

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Drama about teen grief and track is uneven, confusing.

Movie NR 2017 104 minutes
1 Mile to You Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 13+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Balletsport7
Balletsport7 Parent of 13-year-old
January 24, 2020
age 13+

Amazing!!

1 Mile to You is amazing! It is heartfelt and very well made. I would watch this over and over.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
sbuckley73
sbuckley73 Parent of 10, 13 and 18-year-old
April 15, 2019
age 13+

Good early teen movie

I believe this is a good early teen movie. The producer/director did a good job getting in what they could in an hour and 40 minutes. Extending this movie by another 15 minutes could have allowed for some of the supporting characters and aspects of the trajedy in the story to develop a bit more. All in all though, this is good for teens.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

IN 1 MILE TO YOU, after a terrible accident kills almost every member of a high school track team, Kevin (Graham Rogers) is wracked with grief. He's lost his best friend and his girlfriend, and one of his few reminders is his buddy's training shoes, which Kevin refuses to take off. Kevin channels his pain by running, putting in mile after mile and pushing his body beyond its limits as he becomes a track sensation. But even though he gets faster and faster, Kevin still struggles to outrun his pain.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (4):

In a race of movies about running, this drama has legitimate reasons to take a spot at the starting line, but it will likely finish toward the back of the pack. Though 1 Mile to You has its heart in the right place and has plenty of scenes of actual running, it's uneven and confusing -- it's both a romance looking for more uplift and a sports-themed movie that's short on providing inspiration (a must for the genre). Plus, some of the running scenes strain credulity -- what high school boy runs miles and miles to school in a sweater and hat and doesn't sweat? And, frankly, what high school boy devoted to running would run in that?

Rogers does a fairly decent job of telegraphing Kevin's anguish and survivor's guilt. But it's Billy Crudup who's the main attraction here; fans of the actor, who starred in the genre-defining Without Limits, will thrill to see him playing Kevin's coach (a natural progression from his Prefontaine role), but his character is ill-defined, wacky in parts and earnest in others. The mix doesn't quite gel -- though he, as always, turns in a strong performance.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how 1 Mile to You depicts grief and survivor's guilt. Does Kevin's response to the tragedy make sense? Can you understand why he pushes himself to run so hard? How do you think you'd react in his position?

  • How do other people respond to Kevin and his mourning? Do his parents and coaches understand why he needs to run so much and why he won't change his shoes?

  • How is teen substance use portrayed in the film? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

  • How does Kevin demonstrate perseverance? Why is that an important character strength?

Movie Details

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