if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Great cast, even the concept was nice, but a missed opportunity for sure. Bully, LGBT, there were lots of things the film highlighted, but did not choose the right path to ride on with. Everything was overshadowed by the negatives. When I was watching the film, I was very uncomfortable throughout. Because I have kept anticipating the best things to take over at any time, but that never came. Even the sport part was kind of incomplete. The film was a fiction, but even partially that's how things happen in Canada, then Canada is too far behind from all the western world.The film should have been an inspiring tale, or at least an awareness tale. It was a gay theme, though not a romance film. An eleventh grade Tim is avoiding his sexual identity to escape the embarrassment, particularly from the school bullies. But it's too late now, which cost him a big. As a response, he takes a challenge. And now he needs to prove his sexuality, but not everything goes as he had planned. The remaining story takes a crucial twist where everything comes to halt suddenly.Yeah, I think that sudden ending is not convincing. Especially after too many turns in the story development, I actually was expecting the best way to conclude. So not everybody would be happy with that part. Though it was not a bad idea, only they did not make it in a better way. The title too was a little diversion, from prediction. So don't expect, everything's going to be fine kind of film. More like I felt it is made for sadist mindset people. Because you can't encourage such film, particularly its contents which makes unease most of the time.4/10

Some parents like to point to us that the younger years of our lives before we become adults are the best years we're ever gonna experience because after that, it's all about pressure, demands and things we won't fulfill exactly like we intend to. Life is thrown back at us and even with some good outcomes it'll never be the ideal you search for unless you follow a certain designed path, and there's always concerns about the matters of who you are and what society expects you to be; and it involves the things you can control - the dreams and careers you want to follow - and the things you cannot, usually the ones you are born with it - race, sexuality, behavior and so forth. "1:54" deals with that intersection of things and how the youth years sometimes are more burdened than the adult period. It's an awakening that comes too soon and few of ones cannot deal with it completely, for lack of understanding it or lack of power to endure what comes our way. High school years, the toughest period that Tim (Antoine Olivier Pilon) has to face. At one time a great runner, now a shy chemistry buff that doesn't have many friends except for Francis (Robert Naylor), constantly bullied by colleagues, and also facing many challenges of his own when it comes to discovering himself and what he wants from life. He loves his friend but doesn't know exactly how to demonstrate it, quite unsure of the actual reality of being gay - despite Francis seems to be open about the issue with himself, to which we learn in the hard way when confronted by the bullies. Avoiding spoilers here, but due to a turn of events Tim regains back some confidence, rejoins the running team led by his supportive teacher in order to surpass the mark established by a powerful rival (Lou-Pascal Tremblay) and run to national competitions. And another harsh turn of events comes his way, one that will push him against his limit and one where he has to decide what truly matters to him. I liked "1:54" because it moved me in all the expected and unexpected ways, talking about things that are real without adding excessive fictional or unrealistic situations. Here's a movie about bullying, its everlasting effects, cause, effect and possible reactions. Above that, we have a coming-of-age story about a lone kid who managed his best to deal with those obstacles at the same time fighting himself for not knowing how to deal and express his desires, and accept himself. In our current times, it's easy for many in the audience point out that things aren't so hard, gays and lesbians get more acceptance even in school years but that's not the fact; and the ones in the LGBTI community tend to skip films like this because it's all about old traditions of sad portrayals that doesn't provide any hopeful outcome. Both groups are wrong. Things aren't so bright and colorful since a lot of teens and even adults face rejection, aggression and similar, and films like this one shouldn't been avoided due to its nature, even though if your reality is different from the main character. Projects like this exist to inform, to make us analyze and reflect about existing realities; and in a higher degree, to make us ask ourselves in what ways we would react if facing situations like the ones faced by Tim and his friend or even those around them. But it's hard to agree with everything the director/writer presented to us. For a moment, I wanted a different and more positive experience for Tim, and just when I thought the film was going to give me that, it made him regress all the way back to shame. Just one shred of principle for the boy, and I'd enjoyed the film a little more. He acts in defiance, fights back his rival at some points, even impress the crowd with a spare of the moment move towards a girl, but the boldness in acting with decision towards a crucial moment wasn't found and the movie lost the opportunity to tell a story about bravery, overcoming the test life gives you and just not care about what the outside may think. That's what missed here and blocked the film in becoming something of more priority today.Antoine Olivier Pilon delivers another great performance, if you don't know the name yet but remember the face it's because of "Mommy". Unlike the bipolar Steve, his Tim character is someone more controlled, just bursting into a whole set of emotions when something bad comes his way. The discussion with his teacher on the hallway and the intimate attempt he makes to his sleepy friend are some of his greatest moments; but his reaction during one of the most dramatic moments was strangely wrong and unbelievable - in that scene, I wanted more from him. But he delivers something special with his acting, just as much as the whole casting, they were great, not one wrong performance in here. Overall, it's a very good film despite its bumps on the way but it deals with poignant themes and flows in a nice progression, very engaging and of great utility. 8/10

1:54 is the time needed to qualify for the juvenile 800m race in the Canadian national athletic finals. This assumes importance for Tim, a chemistry nerd and repressed homosexual, when his similarly nerdy friend and out homosexual Francis is bullied so severely by a gang led by star athlete Jeff that he commits suicide. Tim is a lapsed athlete and vows to avenge Francis by beating Jeff to the coveted nationals spot. If this were a Hollywood movie you would expect the ending to be heart-warming, life-affirming, and entirely predictable. But director/writer Yan England does not let his hero off so easily: as it becomes clear what a threat Tim is to his athletic ambition, Jeff and his mates plot their counter-revenge.Although it is hard to tell for sure - these young athletes run wearing more layers than Arctic explorers - lead actor Antoine-Olivier Pilon, a solid-looking lad, does not seem to have the body of a runner. This makes his rapid transformation into a medal contender difficult to believe. But in other ways Pilon delivers a good performance, nicely portraying the closed-in Tim's growing interest in and enthusiasm for both athletics and the friendships that being part of a team brings. If his immediate howling reaction to Jeff's revenge seemed a little overblown to me, that may well be because I have never been the teenage victim of unrelenting cyber-bullying.The cyber-bullying sequences are horrifying and I felt real sympathy for Tim - although his violent plan for dealing with the bullies quickly wiped that away. In fact, I think the film would have been a lot more effective had it ended before the final act, which seemed overly dramatic. Overall, though, it was a good watch and certainly made me glad my own teenage years are a few decades behind me...

This film is an extraordinary performance by Antoine Olivier Pilon, who seems mature well beyond his years. A story of bullying and homophobia in schools - which could be anywhere - this depiction highlights the sense of entrapment felt by teenagers when in crisis. These are magnified by the power of technology and the omnipresence of the harassment, 24/7.I have read the earlier reviews and am astounded - did they watch the same film as I had? This is brilliantly directed, down to the athletics scenes. They were so realistic. I hate the use of "important" when it comes to movies, but for many confronted by bullying - either as victims or perpetrators - there can be few other words to describe this. I was profoundly affected by this piece - it was moody, sensitive, raw and brutal.