Lean On Pete (dir. Andrew Haigh)

English director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years) hops across the pond for his new feature, an adaptation of Willy Vlautin's best-selling novel, "Lean On Pete". Premiering at Venice Film Festival in 2017, Haigh's masterful tale of a teenage boy's search for his place in the world, in a small rural Oregon town, speaks volumes of the filmmakers ability to find nuance and pathos in the landscape, and in conjunction with his assured writing, creates a heartbreaking coming-of-age tale that has haunted me since my first viewing.

Filmed back on 2016, "Lean on Pete" has been a long-time coming. Circling the festival circuit, Haigh's terrific drama finally hits American theaters after making waves earlier this year at Sundance. And it's not hard to see why. With a world-stopping performance from the young English actor, Charlie Plummer (All The Money In The World; Boardwalk Empire), and shot with a distinctive beauty by cinematographer Magnus Joenck, Haigh's ability to observe a 15-year old boy in the throws of an emotional awakening proves that the British director is a force to be reckoned with.

Seen first running down the trailer-park squalor he lives in with his alcoholic-father Ray (Travis Trimmel), Charlie (Charlie Plummer) is a weedy and scrawny teenager who's family life is in tatters. His father and his Aunt had a run in a few years back about who was best to take care of him, with his eventual father becoming his "guardian". Yet Charlie look after himself, and one day whilst running, he notices a local racetrack, and eventually gets himself a job working with horse-trainer Del (Steve Buscemi). Before long, he's become his most trusted advisor, accompanying him to races and befriending their most prized racehorse, Lean on Pete. But as has been the case for Charlie, he gets let down by the adults in his life; first his father is hospitalized after a fight with the husband of his new girlfriend, before Dell (Steve Buscemi) starts making decisions he doesn't agree with - so, Charlie sets sail for Wyoming to meet up with his Aunt Margie, and takes the eponymous horse with him for moral support.

Evoking the mystifying beauty of the source material is no easy feet, yet director Andrew Haigh makes it look so effortless. His previous feature, the marital drama 45 Years, took a snapshot of a marriage in crisis in the beautiful Norfolk scenery, and likewise Haigh uses the vast American western landscape to create an atmosphere of loneliness for our young hero. Encountering along the way, other members of society - including the temperamental Steve Zahn - Charlie shows the grit and determination which has allowed him to act much wiser than his years, as he must learn how to survive and find someone who can take care of him. Interspersing the transatlantic journey are moments of picturesque beauty, as well as the odd tender moments with a couple who shelter him for a couple of days. A perfect scene involving an overweight girl, who is incessantly victimized by her parent and has all but given up on her life, attests to her existence as merely being "stuck" - a common theme in Haigh's drama is becoming the victim of their own circumstance, and along the way Charlie must discover this more than anything else.

In the face of adversity, Charlie uses his animal companion as the only person he can relate to. He quips, "I don't ride him", as he doesn't see Pete as a vehicle or even as a pet, more as a friend - and it's because of the impending threat of a slaughterhouse why Charlie saves him, perhaps because he sees something of himself in his equestrian counterpart. Though at it's heart, "Lean on Pete" is not a story about a boy and his horse, this becomes merely the backdrop - as it's a story about a boy's understanding about his need for help. Charlie's relationship with his father was less abusive than more neglectful, and he's certainly not a parent. In Dell, Charlie find's a lovable curmudgeon who did once loves horses also, but now uses them for shady and sleazy means - a brilliant turn from Steve Buscemi manages to balance the tender with the forceful with an experienced vision, and a supporting role from jockey Chloe Savigny is also of note, as well.

Hopefully award's buzz will follow for Andrew Haigh's superb drama, as did for Charlotte Rampling for "45 Years". Plummer is extraordinary, seen most recently in Ridley Scott's heavily re-shot "All The Money In The World", has a young Leonardo DiCaprio quality about him, his charismatic screen presence gels perfectly with his reserved dramatic weight, and it'll be interesting to see him push himself in the future. Throughly enjoyable, and incredibly poignant when it needs to be, "Lean On Pete" is a masterful stroke in Andrew Haigh's increasingly impressive back catalogue.

Rating 4/5