Morgan Matthews last film as a director was The Railway Children Return back in 2022. Prior to that most of his near two dozen films have gone straight to TV or if they have had a cinema release, they’ve disappeared without trace. Hopefully with 500 Miles he’ll finally get some recognition as it’s a wonderful moving piece of filmmaking that reminds you, in a world where nearly every film is a sequel or part of a franchise, how emotional and memorable cinema can be.

Based on the novel Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home by Mark Lowery, 500 Miles tells the story of 15-year-old Finn (Roman Griffin Davis) and his younger brother Charlie (Dexter Sol Ansell) who, after finding out that their parents (Clare Dunne and Michael Socha) are planning on separating, runoff to Ireland to see their grandfather John (Bill Nighy). For reasons unknown to the audience, their parents and John haven’t spoken in a longtime. 

The title refers to the distance the boys have to travel on their journey, it’s approximately 500 miles from the boys’ home near Manchester to their grandfather’s home in Dingle on Ireland’s West Coast.

As the boys use their ingenuity to travel the distance, they meet up with budding musician Kait (Maisie Williams), a busker who also has family issues, and is heading back home to Ireland after visiting her estranged father in England.

500 Miles is basically a road movie, with flashbacks inserted showing the family in happier times, at times it can be slow but thanks to a wonderful cast, Roman Griffin Davis and Dexter Sol Ansell are both terrific, and an ending so surprising (try and avoid spoilers) and emotional, it’s guaranteed to melt even the hardest of hearts.

 500 Miles is a film that you’ll remember long after you’ve left the cinema and is one of the best films of the year so far.

Highly recommended.