Though we occasionally see biopics with a depressing view of a troublesome icon, as in Vice or Oppenheimer, the oft-told tale of the chosen subject is one of perseverance, dedication, and hard work. Audiences love the stories of this latter category, and A Million Miles Away is no exception; people seem to be welcoming the film’s heartfelt approach with open arms. Continue below to see if this film is worth your viewing time and pleasure.
A Million Miles Away Synopsis
After the working-class Hernández family moves to California from Mexico in the late 1960s, the young, school-smart José is inspired to do well in school and get a university education to become an engineer. Overcoming the adversity of having to work twice as hard as his fellow college graduates due to the lack of representation in science from Latin Americans, José M. Hernández eventually achieves his goal of reaching the stars.
The Importance and Pitfalls of A Million Miles Away
Co-writer/director Alejandra Márquez Abella continues a burgeoning career in filmmaking, with A Million Miles Away being her first primarily in English, with Spanish thrown in when appropriate. A Million Miles Away is precisely the kind of inoffensive crowd-pleaser that gets one noticed, and the charm of well-known lead actor Michael Peña as a pleasant but persistent character immensely adds to the appeal. He has to do a lot of the heavy lifting, as the direction is dreamily inobtrusive yet unremarkable, and the script takes no unexpected chances despite the unique real story that inspired this movie.
As outlined in his autobiography, the life of José M. Hernández is incredible. However, while everyone working on A Million Miles Away demonstrates their best intentions, the resulting film adaptation of his life is less exceptional than it is merely solid. The plot of A Million Miles Away, conventionally dramatizing the fundamental moments of a subject’s life from start to finish, is consistently enjoyable for comfortable viewing, though, like many biopics, it falls short of making a separate statement about Hernández, who is a uniquely significant icon for Mexican-Americans. As anticipated from the reviews, A Million Miles Away is still a triumphant tale of “hard work from a bright individual, no matter how disadvantaged, always pays off,” even with some shortcomings.
‘A Million Miles Away’
Abella and Peña Successfully Reach for the Stars With the Life of Hernández
Discounting this film’s inability to be the best of 2023, A Million Miles Away is marvelous in every other regard, hitting all the right high points in a classic story well told. The individuality of the production in Latin-American representation is impressive in its own right, with people of Mexican heritage at many levels of production down to the music by Mexico City-based artist Camilo Lara. Since biopics are typically formula-based to ensure the subject’s story is clear and narratively structured for general audiences, we cannot call A Million Miles Away a low-lying outlier for following suit. Ultimately, it gives you as much as what audiences are likely seeking: a fact-based story of dreams coming true that will warm your heart in all its agreeable accomplishments.
A Million Miles Away is streaming now on Prime Video.