Riley
A disciplined school football player confronts the cost of hiding his queer identity from the world that shaped him.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- introspective
- sincere
- melancholic
- thoughtful solo viewing
- lgbtq film night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Dakota Riley is a disciplined high school athlete whose queer identity conflicts with the identity expected of him.
The keywords explicitly place the story in a locker room and high school American football context.
The central conflict pits Riley’s queer identity against the idea of who he was supposed to be.
The plot describes a life unraveling through conflict over identity and expectation rather than through a large-scale external event.
Films like Riley, and why
Moonlight
shared queer coming of age, closeted identity, and pressure surrounding masculine self-presentation
Beach Rats
shared adolescent sexuality, alienation, and tense social scrutiny within a masculine peer culture
Giant Little Ones
shared lgbtq self-discovery, high school setting, and emotionally intimate identity conflict
The Mudge Boy
shared queer adolescent identity crisis and restrained, melancholic treatment of social conformity
Movie Details
- Director
- Benjamin Howard
- Release Date
- 2025-12-04
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (12)
Cast
- Jake Holley
- Colin McCalla
- Riley Quinn Scott
- Connor Storrie
- Rib Hillis
- J.B. Waterman
- René Ashton
- Nigel Siwabessy
- Marcus Winchester-Jones
- Dallas Perry
Common questions
- What is Riley about?
- A disciplined school football player confronts the cost of hiding his queer identity from the world that shaped him.
- What is Riley like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Riley as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Riley violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Riley.
- Which films are like Riley?
- Films with a similar feel include Moonlight, Beach Rats, Giant Little Ones, and The Mudge Boy.
- How long is Riley?
- Riley runs 93 minutes.
