The Greatest Ever - Review

This is the greatest ever review, why? Because I said it is. I have been given the eternal confidence by Riley’s unstoppable drive to strive for the greatest ever review of The Greatest Ever, so here we go. The Greatest Ever presents a Hallmark like sheen in the music, the look and the premise, but manages to reach a lot deeper, showing that even without some moody lighting, you can make me cry.

Riley Waters (Alexandra Bradley) is the greatest ever at whatever she does. Her unbridled confidence and excitement for what she is doing is so endearing, along with the complete support from her family. Riley has all the confidence, and lacks some of the skills to actually be the greatest ever. Riley’s sister, Rachael (Cate Elefante) is a talent in her own right, singing some difficult Christmas songs while struggling to find out what to write her music about. Riley and Rachael share a strong bond, where they look out for one another and encourage each other in every venture they go down. Riley lives with autism, and while being the greatest ever gymnast, begins to feel a little light headed. This spell of dizziness alerts doctors to a potential worry, recommending that she pause any physical activity. That doesn’t knock Riley’s confidence and determination though, leading her to find her new passion, painting. Through painting, she may just find out that she is indeed…the greatest ever.

The film presents a very surface level message at the beginning, one that I kept trying to predict as the film progressed, but as it went on, I was taken aback by how much I was genuinely feeling while watching it. The bond between Riley and Rachael is both written and performed very well, which helps to sell a lot of the more “cheesy” elements of the narrative. I was quite moved by the ending of the film, where you see the sisters’ bond materialise in a really special way.

I mentioned a surface level sheen that the film portrays, which I think works against it for the most part. With some more interesting lighting and camerawork, I think I could have been invested from the jump. It took the performances in this to sell it for me, rather than the whole package. I felt pretty much the same about the soundtrack, which works more to fill the silence rather than enhance the moments. I do think there is some effective music use near the conclusion of the film, but overall I wasn’t enchanted by the score.

I was enchanted, however, by the performances in this film. Bradley and Elefante are almost co-leads in this film, with Elefante delivering emotional performances well beyond her years. There is an understanding of emotion in every scene she is in, whether it be happy, annoyed or sad, that just comes out of her. She has a lot to do near the end of the film and nails every scene. Not to take away from Bradley as Riley either, who I think does such a wonderful job at making Riley so immediately likeable and maintaining that endearing nature throughout the entire film. There is a weight to her character later on in the film, as she is facing those conversations with the doctors about stopping her activities that I think she also handles really well, making Riley a lot more rounded than just a happy-go-lucky kid.

Music is an important part of the film, with Rachael’s singing career hopefully ahead of her, and the looming challenge of finding her voice as a writer. I think the film in certain ways takes the glory of that work away from her as the ending approaches, but this is in sacrifice to a really strong message of the bond that sisters share. So while the completion of her character arc is not necessarily the one I was hoping for, I was still moved by the choices made to complete that story. Elefante is also a really great singer, which makes the chance that she will make it one day feel all the more realistic.

The Greatest Ever is more than your standard message movie about trying your best. It is a really well acted and nicely written emotional story showcasing the love between two sisters. Their unwavering confidence in one another is a joy to watch, making for a film that feels actually quite needed today. So often we see jealousy of success creep into stories like these, straining relationships and complicating dynamics. However, in this film we see what happens when everyone involved is on board and lets go of ego to bolster love.

The Greatest Ever is available to stream for free on YouTube