It's a terrific little film worthy of discovery.

4 Minute Mile is efficient in its storytelling — which is fitting, given that it’s about a sprinter — and Jenkins and Blatz have solid chemistry with each other.

Engaging performances by the principal players, including Richard Jenkins as a legendary coach beset by personal demons, are almost enough to win the day, but in the end, the cliched narrative is too slight to put the picture over the finish line.

This film about the loneliness of the young middle-distance runner drops so many heavy obstacles in his way, with such grueling regularity, that it’s like he’s practicing to be a hurdler instead.

Most of the movie is a losing proposition.