Riley (2023)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A closeted high-school football player struggles to reconcile his identity with the intense pressure of his athletic career.
The story
Dakota Riley is a star wide receiver and rising senior at Middleton High School in suburban San Diego. Living under intense pressure from his father, the school's head football coach, to secure a college scholarship, Riley must navigate his identity as a closeted athlete. While he presents himself as heterosexual to the public, he privately struggles with his attraction to other boys, specifically his quarterback and best friend, Jaeden Galloway. As he dates a classmate named Skylar, Riley's internal conflict grows, and his interactions with an openly gay friend, Liam, force him to confront his feelings, creating tension within his social circle and affecting his behavior on and off the field.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dakota Riley is a star wide receiver and rising senior at Middleton High School in suburban San Diego, living under intense pressure from his father, the school's head football coach, to secure a college scholarship. While he presents himself as heterosexual, Riley privately struggles with his attraction to other boys, particularly his quarterback and best friend, Jaeden Galloway. While dating a classmate, Skylar, Riley grows increasingly conflicted about his identity. His friendship with openly gay classmate Liam prompts him to confront his feelings, placing strain on his relationship with Skylar and creating tension within his social circle. After a series of emotional confrontations and misunderstandings, Riley starts to accept his sexuality. He comes out to Skylar, and the two part amicably. Jaeden reassures Riley of his support and agrees to keep his secret. Before a crucial rivalry game, Riley sees Skylar and Liam in the crowd and delivers a motivational speech to his teammates, signaling a growing sense of self-acceptance despite the pressures he still faces.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Benjamin Howard
- Writers
- Benjamin Howard · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jake Holley; Colin McCalla; Riley Quinn Scott; Connor Storrie; Rib Hillis
- Genres
- coming-of-age; drama
- Themes
- identity; coming-of-age; athletic pressure
- Tone and mood
- sincere; realistic
- Setting
- Suburban San Diego, California during the high school years.
- Premise and plot tags
- LGBTQ+; sports; high school
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on the director's experiences as a student athlete.
- Reception
- Critics generally responded positively to the film, praising its message and realism while noting that it does not introduce anything new.
- Reported review scores
- The Movie Buff · score: A+; Shadows on the Wall · score: 4 · scale: 5; Radio Times · score: 3 · scale: 5
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by the director's experiences as a student athlete.; The film was crowdfunded through Seed&Spark.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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