Chandler Rebak was 27 years old when he started writing a story he couldn’t stop thinking about. The Montreal indie music scene she once called home is now years behind, and Lubac, then a film and music critic, sat down to mine the summer of her 24th year, following the scene, the boys in bands, and something she hadn’t yet named. Now, 12 years later, at the age of 39 and with her monumental debut book on the horizon, her most personal protagonist will finally be introduced to the world.
“The longer we wrote the script, the more drafts we went through, the more self-deprecating the movie became,” Levak told Variety. “It’s gotten more complex and more personal.”
The result is Levak’s semi-autobiographical film Mile End Kicks, which will be released in theaters on April 17th. Barbie Ferreira plays Grace, a 24-year-old music critic who leaves Toronto for a glittering bohemian summer, ostensibly to research a book about Alanis Morissette’s The Jagged Pill. It’s even harder to clarify what she actually does. It’s about recognition, belonging, and the unique pain of being a woman on the fringes of a male-dominated creative world.
Provided by Jeremy Cox
The film explores questions such as “Why do women date guys in bands? Is it because we want to be guys in bands?” Levack says that line came from a place she had not wanted to see for years. “Most of my life has been defined by my need for approval and recognition from men,” she says. “For a long time, I denied what that experience was actually like for me. How much that strange sense of tokenization, desperately parroting other people’s opinions about music and writing and culture, shaped what I even thought the meaning of art was. Admitting it was a dark secret I didn’t want to admit.”
That reckoning culminated in what she says was the most painful scene in the movie to shoot. Grace is on the outside of the semicircle of men, hovering near a small room as they talk about music. “Something inside me completely broke,” Levak says. “I was immediately 22 years old again. I was in denial for a long time how much that experience had actually cost me.”
Levak first heard “Jagged Little Pill” at age 8, in her mother’s minivan, when she was too young to understand “You Oughta Know” but old enough to feel like it described her future. The more she looked into Morissette’s story, the more bizarre and pertinent the parallels became. “I found archival footage of her music producer hitting her on the head,” Levak says. “Just a few days ago, we were filming a scene where Jay Baruchel’s character does the exact same thing to Grace. In the exact same way.”
Levak completed the film at the same time as directing the Happy Madison comedy Roommates, which stars Sadie Sandler and Chloe East as college roommates who go from unlikely friends to sworn enemies during their freshman year. The project came about after Adam Sandler saw his 2022 debut film, I Like Movies, and called his agent. The day after reading the script, Sandler called her personally, and two days later, Levak was on a plane to Los Angeles.
“He really believed in me,” she says of Sandler. “I don’t know how someone can look at a movie called “I Like Movies,” where there’s literally no lighting, and think he can direct a $30 million feature film.”
Both films will be released on Friday. “Roommates” is available to stream on Netflix and “A Mile End Kick” is in theaters. Below, Levak speaks to Variety about unearthing his memories, why Morissette felt like a “through-line to everything,” and what he learned from working with Sandler.
This “Mile End Kicks” script has been with you for 10 years. What was the original impulse?
I’d been a music critic and film critic for a long time, and I’d made some music videos, but I never felt like I’d made something that reflected my voice as a writer and the kinds of movies I really like: romantic comedies and hangout movies. So I was trying to put my own spin on “Reality Bites,” “Dazed and Confused,” and “Almost Famous.” I then used a truly cinematic summer spent in Montreal in 2011 at the height of the music scene as a backdrop. I took the basis of a romantic comedy script structure and put my own personal experiences on top of it. And the longer I spent writing the script, the more drafts I went through, and the more I worked on it, the more self-deprecating the film became. It has become more complex and more personal.
How did you find the balance between excavating memory and fictionalizing it for film?
I screened the film in New York, and a lot of my college friends who were with me in Montreal that summer came to the screening. They said it was like the uncanny valley. “It’s weird, like I met Barbie. It’s like she walks you, and then she walks into the dépanneur where we were all having beers.” I think that’s what makes filmmaking so interesting. You investigate your own memories, but you also ask what is actually cinematic about this? What makes this more painful and true? Is this interesting to me or is there any real cinematic value here?
Alanis Morissette is practically a character in this movie. When did she become a throughline?
“Jagged Little Pill” is an album I listened to in my mom’s minivan when I was 8 years old. I immediately fell in love with the record and begged my girlfriend to buy it for me at Best Buy. I hear it over and over again. I felt that was very powerful. Eight-year-old me couldn’t relate to “You Oughta Know,” but somehow it sounded like my future. Alanis was involved in the script from the beginning. And as the script developed, the more I researched her, especially her story before she made the “Jagged Little Pill,” the more her journey became eerily parallel to Grace’s. There’s a shot I found in archive footage where her music producer is patting her on the head, and just a few days earlier they had filmed a scene where Jay Baruchel’s character does the exact same thing to Grace. Exactly the same. Yes, I always felt like Alanis was the deciding factor in everything.
The film has been compared to “Almost Famous.” Are you happy about that?
That movie is like the most fundamental work of art in my life. I became a music critic because of “Almost Famous.” I think it’s because of “Almost Famous” that I became a film director. I think “Almost Famous” made me a better person. it means everything to me.
Grace has lines like: “Why do women date men in a band? Is it because we want to be a man in a band?” — it’s like stopping the entire movie. where did it come from?
To be honest, I think it’s about envy between men and women. Most of my life has been defined by my need for a man’s approval and validation. For a long time in my life, I was in denial of what that experience was actually like for me. How much I thought I was a peer, like everyone else – an equal – but how much this strange sense of tokenization, desperately parroting everyone else’s opinions and feelings and instincts about music and writing and culture, shaped the very meaning of what I thought art was. I’m trying to get out of that mindset, but it’s very difficult. I admitted that it was a dark secret that I didn’t want to admit.
What was the most painful scene to film?
Semi-circle scene — Grace is just watching them talk about music, and she’s kind of standing on top of the cubicle just outside the circle. We had no problems shooting other scenes in the movie. Then I started filming, but something inside me completely broke. I was instantly 22 years old again. For a long time, I was in denial about how much the experience actually cost me.
We talked about loving the troublesome protagonist. Why is it important to you?
I don’t like the idea that a good protagonist has to be a blank slate that everyone in the audience can relate to, someone who is charming, kind, flawless, and designed to be likable in the lab. This kind of protagonist doesn’t deserve a movie. They are already healed. Why would we want to go on a hero’s journey with them? I like people who are messy, flawed, complicated, selfish, and excessive. I think it’s because I am.
How did Barbie Ferreira come to you for Grace?
I always thought she was an extraordinary actor and star and a real leading lady. I loved her song “Euphoria.” But my editor was at South by Southwest and had just seen “I Like Bob Trevino,” and he texted me, “Chandler, you should definitely see this movie. I think this person is Grace. We found her. Don’t talk to anyone else.” She said she knew it within five seconds. Barbie is trying to send a text message but is crying hysterically. So I followed the link to this movie and was completely shocked. There was a scene where her voice got stuck in my throat and I had to pause the movie and cry for 10 minutes. We have a mutual friend, Daniel Goldhaber, and he connected us. I flew to LA and talked for an hour, and by the time it was over, it was very clear to both of us that she was going to star in the movie.
Where do you think Grace is now after the movie?
Realistically? Grace is probably managing a social media page for a home goods company or something like that right now. She probably doesn’t work in journalism anymore. However, I would like to do a sequel set in winter six months from now, with those characters. I just hope she still remains vulnerable and open-minded and continues to make mistakes. It’s never easy. I make films to understand different areas of my life. Next I want to make a movie about being in my 30s.
While you were editing this film, you were also directing Happy Madison’s Roommates at the same time. How on earth did that happen?
When I was editing “Mile End Kicks,” I got a call from my agent at WME and asked who I’d most like to work with in the world. He said Adam Sandler. They said, “Oh yeah, he saw ‘I Like Movies.'” I thought, “What are you talking about?” They said that he loves it so much and that he has this project written by the great SNL screenwriters starring his oldest daughter Sadie. I’ll read the script and if I like it, I’ll call you tomorrow. I read it in 5 seconds. The next day I got a call from Adam Sandler and I couldn’t believe it. We talked for an hour and really hit it off. Two days later I was flying to Los Angeles to meet him at a hotel in Beverly Hills. My mom said it was similar to “Pretty Woman” in a way. It’s not exactly the same kind of thing.
What did you learn from working with Sandler?
He really helped me realize my potential as a filmmaker. He really believed in me. I don’t know how you can look at “I Like Movies,” a movie that literally doesn’t even have lighting and think that guy could direct a $30 million feature film. But the great thing about Adam as a co-creator and producer is that he really has faith and trust in people. He gave me the best comedy education of my life. And I think it’s really cool that Happy Madison has a movie starring Sadie that I directed, and another movie that’s coming out called Don’t Say Good Luck that was written and directed by Julie Hart. He really cares about what his daughters think is cool and cinematic and funny and interesting. He just wants to tell stories that will help young women see themselves. And I think that’s great.
