TIFF 2025 — ‘Mile End Kicks’ Review: Growing Pains in Montreal’s Indie Rock Scene

Chandler Levack’s sophomore feature film is an endearing portrait of finding your own place in Montreal’s music scene.

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Hey, I’m Bode! Like the great game designer Hideo Kojima, I like to think that (at least) 70% of my body is made out of art – films especially. It’s been that way since I was a child, when my first exposure to Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial sparked a love and a fascination for the medium that continues to this day. It’s to the point where voicing my opinions on it – from the good to the bad, the old to the new – is almost second nature to me. It’s how I’ve been able to make sense of my place in the world, especially as someone with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) – which I was diagnosed with as a child. For a long time, I found it hard to talk about with others, sometimes out of shame. But the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve been open about it – if only to give a sense of what living with it is like (spoiler alert: it has its issues). In addition to Cinema from the Spectrum (where I feel lucky to contribute some of my musings to), you can also find me on Bitesize Breakdown, a global collective of writers where reviews of the latest films and shows are spoiler-free and are around 100 words. I also have a Letterboxd, but that’s probably obvious by now.

September 22, 2025

3–4 minutes

Three years after her debut feature I Like Movies premiered at TIFF to great acclaim, writer-director Chandler Levack returns to the festival with her sophomore feature Mile End Kicks. Much like how the former was inspired by her days working at a Blockbuster (via her own admission), this coming-of-age romantic comedy is inspired by the Toronto filmmaker’s previous life as a music journalist. It’s endearingly obvious, whether it’s watching the film’s main protagonist Grace Pine (Barbie Ferreira) scribbling notes during an Islands show (which greatly charmed me), or seeing how Levack details the layout of the Toronto alt-weekly magazine office Grace works in (peppered with a Nathan Fielder poster, no less).

This also informs the film’s backdrop, which is set amongst the music scene in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood (beautifully photographed by cinematographer Jeremy Cox), a place where Grace – originally from Toronto – moves to during the summer. While she hopes that this new setting gives her the inspiration she needs to further pursue her passion in music criticism (and that includes writing a 33 ⅓ – a series of books about specific albums – on Alanis Morissette’s seminal classic Jagged Little Pill), these plans get disrupted when she meets her flat roommate Madeleine’s (Juliette Gariépy) boyfriend’s band, Bone Patrol and becomes their publicist. Things get even more complicated when she gets entangled in a semi-love triangle with its two band members, kindhearted guitarist Archie (Devon Bostick) and superficial lead vocalist Chevy (Stanley Simons).

I was still in high school around the year the film is set (in 2011 to be exact), and I am definitely not a woman (this author is a guy) who found myself in a semi-love triangle between two band members. But I was – and still am – a giant indie rock nerd who perused through all the music blogs and all the alt-weeklies to know what was new and what was fresh, and while I can’t recall following the sort of explosion happening in Montreal closely at that specific time, I was well-aware some of the acts that were coming out of there (especially Grimes and Mac DeMarco, whose name-drops were amusing). So, I’ll admit that seeing some of those indie sleaze-isms at play provided a bit of fun nostalgia for me (right down to its impeccably put-together soundtrack, which features the likes of Deerhunter, Joanna Newsom, Autolux, and TOPS – who provide two original tunes for the film).

Luckily, the film has more going for it than just pure nostalgia. Levack ably captures the sort of chaos comes with the twenty-something experience – especially early on. Grace is constantly caught between ambition and neglect, often choosing the latter out of self-doubt or out of pure selfishness. It’s a credit to Levack’s direction and her sharp script that even with the mistakes she constantly makes, from spending so much with Chevy to exploding the kindness of her roommate, you still care about her and hope that she grows from it. It helps that Ferreira is such a talented performer, nailing Grace’s optimism in the beginning and her crushed realities as the film progresses. It’s a star-making performance, if there ever was one, and thankfully many of the film’s supporting players meet her where she is. Bostick is especially charming as Archie, the guy Grace should really be together with (even with his own issues).

It’s certainly not without its flaws, mainly a third act that could’ve used some tightening up (especially near the end, where it almost seems to drag to its final scene). Still, there’s enough hilarity, honesty and compassion throughout Mile End Kicks that it comes recommended even to those who never had an indie phase in their lifetime, and further cements Levack as a Canadian filmmaker to watch.

All images via Sumerian Pictures.

Directed by Chandler Levack
Screenplay by Chandler Levack
Produced by Matthew Miller, Pat Kiely, Julie Groleau
Starring Barbie Ferreira, Jay Baruchel, Devon Bostick, Juliette Gariépy, Isaiah Lehtinen
Premiere Date: September 4, 2025 (Toronto)
Running Time: 111 minutes

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