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Let Him Go
(Focus Features)
By Lucas Allen
Based on the acclaimed best-selling novel by Larry Wilson, “Let Him Go” is billed as a thriller with heavy doses of family drama. But when you see the film, you’ll soon find out that it’s more of an old-fashioned Western set against the northern Midwest backdrop. That’s certainly a tall order coming from writer/director Thomas Bezucha, who brought us the heartwarming holiday comedy “The Family Stone.”
Living in Montana in the early 1960s, retired sheriff George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) and his rancher wife Margaret (Diane Lane) are mourning the death of their son James (Ryan Bruce) after a freak horse-riding accident. Their daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter) quickly remarries a young man named Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain) and moved out wiith her baby son, Jimmy. Margaret feels unease about the marriage after witnessing domestic abuse one day. When the newlyweds mysteriously leave with their son, Margaret convinces her husband to take a road trip to try to get their grandson back.
Along the way, the couple befriends a young Native American drifter, Peter (Booboo Stewart), who lives on his own after running away from his reservation at a young age. Eventually, George and Margaret meet up with another Weboy, Bill (Jeffrey Donovan), in North Dakota, who drives them to where Donnie and Lorna are. They’ve been living in the home of the Weboy clan, headed by matriarch Blanche (Lesley Manville). Te grandparents find it more difficult to bring back their grandson as the Weboys try to keep the baby boy at any cost.
With shades of Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” the movie is a throwback to the Western films of the late 20th century, with more down-and-gritty realism than the ones in the earlier part of the century. It invokes themes of family, remors, and past regrets to tell an emotional and complex story worthy of the genre The Midwest locations help enhance the realistic story, with grassy fields and mountaintops much like the deserts of a mid-60s spaghetti western. The director seems to channel his inner-Sergio Leone to give us what could be the perfect modern retro western.
The Weboys may seem like your typical backwoods family, but imagine if the family from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” became the Corleones. Their antagonism amplifies the film’s second half, while the first is merely slow, but a fine setup nonetheless. There’s some dramatic levity throughout the first half during scenes without dialogue. Much like the road trip, it’s a test of patience before the arrival at the Weboy household where the real action begins. Also, the climatic scene absolutely gets the blood flowing.
Both Lane and Costner are absolutely great in their main roles as sort-of Ma and Pa Kent from “Man of Steel” without raising Superman, but can still defend themselves heroically. These two actors can create emotional performances that fit their characters the way they’re written. Manville on the other hand is a fierce villain becoming an evil June Cleaver who’s both scary and intimidating.
If you have the patience to get through the first half, you’ll find “Let Him Go” to be a modern western throwback filled with unnerving power and emotion. It’s raw, intense, and downright gritty in the tradition of the genre’s finest in recent years. The choices to watch what’s in theaters may be limited, but it’s great they’re coming out with more interesting titles than the usual batch.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
