Mile End Kicks (2026)

Released on Netflix this last July, Mile End Kicks catches the eyes of those who want to escape the disasters of 2026 and visit the era of peak Tumblr, unforgettable music hits, and iconic fashion trends—— of 2011. This coming-of-age film directed by Chandler Levack succeeds at portraying an accurate representation of what life was like in the early 2010’s. Between the old iPhones, skater skirts with tights, and tangled wired headphones, it is safe to say that she easily reached nostalgic standards with these components. As for the actual storyline, though it showcases many aspects of growth as a woman in your early 20’s, we were also met with themes of romance. Many watchers ended up loving the overall indie aesthetic of the film, but some opinions surfaced when it came to the plot and characters.

The film follows a young woman, Grace Pine (Barbie Ferreira), who is introduced to us as a music critic with the ambition of becoming a more serious writer. When presented with the opportunity to write a novel about Alanis Morissette’s album, Jagged Little Pill, Grace impulsively decides to move to Montreal, Quebec, to pursue the experience and further her writing talents. When settled in Montreal, reality quickly struck for her as she was met with inexcusable deadlines for her novel that is nowhere near finished, and is struggling financially to pay her half for rent. While she is facing these obstacles, Grace meets a small, indie rock band, Bone Patrol, and starts to develop a crush on the lead singer, Chevy (Stanley Simons). The film starts to shift focus to Grace’s romantic interests towards Chevy and her new friendship with another band member, Archie (Devon Bostick). Motivated to get with the lead singer, she becomes the band’s publicist, which eventually lands her in troubled waters with her original writing opportunity for Jagged Little Pill. As well as her loyalty to her roommate, who also quickly became her friend, Madeleine (Juliette Gariépy) has shown her grace for being consistently late on rent and always inconsiderately eating her groceries.

Trying to figure out her romantic situation with Chevy, Grace realizes, towards the end of the film, with the help of being told by Archie, that Chevy has been treating her horribly all this time, and eventually ends things with him. She also acknowledges that this wasn’t the only thing that needed to change—figuring out how to overcome her financial issues, gaining her roommate’s trust again, and becoming romantically involved with Archie became her priority. She ends up accomplishing all of these things and becomes very satisfied with her new life in Montreal after the chaos she has faced.