Lean on Pete (2018)

Only a film maker with the talent of Andrew Haigh could make me care about a boy-and-his-horse movie. Let me correct that, it would take the expertise of a film maker working at the top of his game to get me to love a boy-and-his-horse movie. Lean on Pete, the awkwardly named and subject-challenged story of a young man finding purpose through caring for a horse movie, is a remarkable surprise in just how much it took a hold of me and didn't let go.

Haigh, with his loving attention to detail, his sense of beautiful tragedy, and his lush approach to visuals, has crafted a wonderful film which will break your heart without pulling at it. Haigh finds a way to take a story which should be manipulative and find the truth in it.

Charlie Plummer, who I first noticed in Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World, gives one of those performances which shows us he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. He never makes Charley overly expressive but gives him all the emotions his character feels through everything. He plays opposite the horse and pulls this off like a veteran.

Don't misunderstand. This isn't an inspiring tale about the love between a human and an animal. In the end Lean on Pete isn't about a boy-and-his-horse. It's about a boy who is left behind and struggles to find connection and meaning in a world that doesn't care. Haigh and Plummer paint a beautiful portrait of this boy that is heartbreaking and a movie that will haunt you long after it finishes.

Lean on Pete
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Zahn, Travis Fimmel
Writer/Director: Andrew Haigh