A Mile in His Shoes
A Mile in His Shoes is a 2011 Canadian made-for-television sports drama film directed by William Dear and starring Luke Schroder, George Canyon and Dean Cain. It was based on the novel The Legend of Mickey Tussler by Frank Nappi. The setting was changed from Ohio in 1948 in the novel to Bargersville, Indiana in 2002 in the film.[2] The story takes place before autism was a recognized condition and people who had it were thought to have "special needs ".[3] The movie takes place in Ohio, but was filmed in areas surrounding Vancouver, British Columbia, including Langley, New Westminster and Queen's Park.
| A Mile in His Shoes | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Screenplay by | Jason Koornick |
| Directed by | William Dear |
| Starring | Dean Cain Luke Schroder |
| Music by | Stu Goldberg |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tara Cowell-Plain Dureyshevar Jason Koornick Jack Nasser Joseph Nasser Dan Spilo Danny Webber |
| Cinematography | C. Kim Miles [1] |
| Running time | 89 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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Plot
The film centers on Mickey Tussler (Luke Schroder), an 18-year-old from Indiana with Autism, who joins the semi-professional baseball team "the River Rats" after being discovered by Arthur Murphy (Dean Cain).[2] At 18 Mickey has very severe autism. His speaking abilities are limited and he usually refers to himself in the third person and recites poetry to himself when he becomes overwhelmed. Mickey's mother (a clarinetist and poet) is forced by her father to marry a man named Clarence who is illiterate and beats both Molly and Mickey.
The movie introduces Arthur Murphy ("Murph") who sees Mickey pitching apples to his pig and sees a boy with a lot of potential in a baseball career. He talks Molly, Mickey's mother into letting Mickey come with him to be a part of the team. He pairs him with a very nice teammate named Pee Wee who takes Mickey under his wing.
Even though Mickey is a good member of the team, he does not fit in and his team mates constantly make fun of him and haze him. Though the movie's focus is on Mickey's journey and his baseball career, the movie also focuses on the importance of raising awareness about Autism. The movie portrays the importance of giving people with autism a chance and treating them with respect. The original book gives each character the chance to show small amounts of their own history making the story very complex and compelling.[4]
Cast
- Luke Schroder as Mickey Tussler
- Dean Cain as Arthur "Murph" Murphy
- George Canyon as Clarence
- Chilton Crane as Mrs. Tussler
- Jarod Joseph as Pee Wee
- Jesse Hutch as George "Lefty" Rogers
- Andrew Wheeler as Warren Dennison
- Jaren Brandt Bartlett as Raymond "Boxcar" Miller
- Anna Mae Wills as Laney
- Matthew Robert Kelly as Chip McNally
- Lee Tichon as Rocco Hightower
- Kenneth W. Yanko as Sheriff Billings
- Paul Jarrett as Pastor Bob
References
- Alice Jester (22 September 2011). "Meet Luke Schroder: Lead Acting Debut in A Mile in His Shoes". The Morton Report. Retrieved 12 December 2013.