Wheels (2014 film)

Mickey Cole (Donavon Warren) has slit his wrists, rolled onto train tracks and thrown himself down stairs. He is a suicidal paraplegic who has restless nights with vivid dreams of walking again. After many suicide attempts, Mickey decides he needs help and seeks someone he believes has no scruples and would do anything for money.

After witnessing Drake Jones (Patrick Hume) con a businessman into giving him money, Mickey follows Drake, who is also a paraplegic, into a bar with the hopes of propositioning him to shoot Mickey in the head for $500. The two get into a bar brawl with bikers and wander out into the alley where Mickey finally asks Drake for help. In a twist of fate, the gun turns out to be filled with blanks.

After suicide evades Mickey once again, he befriends the wild-eyed Drake. Drake introduces him to the wonders of heroin and street life. Mickey meets Janet (Diana Gettinger), a prostitute who is more than willing to enable Mickey's thirst for attention. As Mickey becomes addicted to drugs, his friendship with Drake and his state of mind grows stronger. He struggles with childhood flashbacks and eventually confronts his estranged father Allan (Kevin McCorkle) who he claims pushed him off a roof, causing his paralysis.[1]

• Donavon Warren as Mickey Cole
• Patrick Hume as Drake Jones
• Diana Gettinger as Janet, Mickey's love interest
• Kevin McCorkle as Allan Cole, Mickey's father
• Irina Costa as Lisa, prostitute and Janet's friend
• Nathanyael Grey as Elvis, the drug dealer
• Will Jennings as Little Mickey
• Samantha Siong as Samantha Cole, Mickey's mother
• Parker Bolek as Jimmy Cole, Mickey's brother

Donavon Warren began writing Wheels when he was 20. He attributes the storyline to his own struggles with depression, but also wished to highlight social issues people aren’t usually comfortable discussing. He's devoted 13 years of his life to making the film.[2]

Warren filmed the second half of the film 53 pounds lighter to reflect Mickey's drug abuse. He lost the weight eating tuna and apples. He simultaneously underwent medical testing for extra money to pay for the film. Hume cracked his own fingernails and carried around his own "dirt" to play the gritty homeless Drake. Hume and Warren spent time on skid row and Hollywood Blvd. in character to enrich their roles. Hume was questioned by the LAPD narcotics officers during filming for being too convincing.[3]

Wheels premiered in 2014 at the Newport Beach Film Festival[4] and in December 2014, Wheels won best feature at the Bahamas International Film Festival.[5]

• Official website
• Wheels on IMDb
• Wheels at Rotten Tomatoes
• Wheels at Metacritic