It turns out that was a good hunch. Lean on Pete is
one of the more emotional films I've seen in a while. Haigh is a master at
stretching out an emotion without dulling the impact. The phrase I keep coming
back to is that the film is one drawn-out, powerful kick to the balls with an
ice pack at the end. It's probably not for everyone. For those in the right
headspace, it's a pretty profound experience: not always easy, but totally
worth it.
In case you aren't like me and haven't seen the
trailer a dozen times before movies over the last few months, Lean on Pete
is about Charley (Charlie Plummer). He's a 15 year old boy who moves around a
lot with his father. His mother isn't around anymore and his father is a
deadbeat. He cares for his son deeply. He just probably shouldn't be a father.
Charley stumbles onto a job working for Del (Steve Buscemi), a horse owner at a
track near him in a run down part of Portland. Charley takes to the job and
bonds with one of the horses, Lean on Pete, despite warnings from Del
and his jockey (Chloe Sevigny) to not get too attached. There's nothing profound
about this connection. He just likes the horse and has little else going for
him. Eventually, Charley's home life deteriorates right around the time when he
finds out that Lean on Pete is going to be sold and slaughtered, so he
impulsively runs off with the horse. Charley has an idea of an endgame after
that but little idea how to make it happen. Really, this is a movie about a kid
who doesn't feel wanted. All his actions and, in turn, the movie, are driven by
that.
Charlie Plummer is terrific. I barely recognized him
from when I saw him in All the Money in the World.
Most of his work here is non-verbal except for one . Despite doing some stupid
things in the movie, I never questioned what he was thinking or what his
motivations were. I believed every step of his journey. Buscemi is a distant
second in screen time. He plays a prickly mentor type well. The movie is smart
to leave him behind before we ultimately figure out what he's about. He could
turn out to be a surrogate father or he could be a foul man who is taking
advantage or a trusting kid. I film isn't concerned with answering that. I've
always preferred Sevigny is roles like this that allow her to be loose. As
Charley's father, Travis Fimmel stops just short of being unlikable. No one
else Charley runs into on his journey really popped.
I don't normally notice a lot of the technical
elements in a movie, but I loved the camerawork in this. Andrew Haigh and
director of photography Magnus Nordenhof Jønck have beautifully simple shots.
They don't cut to different angles often. A lot of the scenes play out in a
single shot. The camera movement is minimal and precise. They understand that
if the camera doesn't move a lot, then the impact when it actually does move is
greater.
This is a very patient movie and that did start to
wear on me by the end. There's one chapter too many. By the last leg of
Charley's journey, I started to wonder when the hell he was going to get there.
It's not a big deal. I'm pretty sure if you hate the movie, it's not going to
take that long for you to turn on it. I just think Haigh underlines the point a
bit to much.
Lean on Pete could end up being one of my favorite movies of the year,
or it could be one I never want to see again. It's that kind of movie. I felt
very strongly about it and I liked it. Any other ending would've pissed me off,
so I'm glad it ended like it did.
Movie Theater MVP: Everyone sitting in front of or next to me. This
wasn't a pack theater. It was maybe 1/3 to 1/2 full. Every single person I saw
stayed all the way through the credits. Short of a Marvel movie, I've never had
that happen. It was sort of surreal. I think we all needed a minute to collect
ourselves. We'd been through a lot.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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