By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Ricky Staub
Starring: Caleb McLaughlin | Idris Elba | Lorraine Toussaint | Method Man
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 111
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8846176
Chris says: “Urban western or sentimental coming-of-age tale? A bit of both, as a troubled teen sent to gritty North Philadelphia to spend the summer with the father he never met learns to love himself and find a purpose in life. Also, Dad (Idris Elba!) and his neighbors take care of and ride horses abandoned by the city’s police and spend their time decked out in cowboy hats sittin’ around a campfire in a vacant lot. It’s a wacky, beguiling premise, diminished somewhat by well-worn clichés straight outta both BOYZ N THE HOOD and SHANE. However, can’t fault that cast (especially the underrated Lorraine Toussaint.) 3 cats
“TIFF 2020 Reviews”
Michael says: “The coming-of-age film is one of my favorite genres, and while it’s often the case that these films fall into a fairly formulaic mode, if the acting is good and the script well-written, I often enjoy them anyway. Such is the case with CONCRETE COWBOY, which scores an additional point for taking place in such a unique and heretofore unknown-to-me setting. Not that Philadelphia is unknown-to-me, but the fact that there is a black riding club — a group of African Americans who live a cowboy lifestyle, horses and also, in urban Philadelphia — was a surprise to me.
“When 15-year-old Cole faces expulsion from school after getting into yet another fight, his mother is at her wit’s end; nothing she does seems to help her son who is headed down a dangerous path in Detroit. So she packs his things in garbage bags and drives him to Philadelphia where her estranged husband, who hasn’t seen his family in years, is living a life unrecognizable to the angry and terrified Cole, unceremoniously left on the sidewalk as his mother returns to Detroit. When he finds his dad unofficially running the Fletcher Street Stables along with this eccentric bunch of black folks, and that he’ll be sharing his Dad’s apartment with an actual horse. he is convinced he is on another planet. Enter Smush, a childhood friend who starts to lure Cole into a dangerous and potentially lucrative life on the streets of Philly. Gradually, Cole begins to understand his father, through the eyes and wisdom of the other urban cowboys from the stable, and manages to be the one person who can calm and befriend one ornery horse that others had failed with. Waffling between two paths, both hit major, tragic hurdles, but in the end, Cole finds his way and finds his path to adulthood.
“Upon reflection, the script does follow a pretty standard coming-of-age formula, but the acting is really well done. Caleb McLaughlin, best known for his role in ‘Stranger Things’ is powerful as Cole. His frustration and anger is palpable, but he limns those emotions with an underlying current of fear and abandonment… and while it’s a little corny, it’s what allows him to feel so bonded with the horse in a similar situation. Chlotrudis Award winner Lorrain Toussaint (FAST COLOR) is one of the several, sage riders who helps Cole see the beauty, and tough love, of their world. She’s one of the few actors who make up this fascinating tribe, as most of them are actual riders from the Fletcher Street stables, adding a level of authenticity to the film. Idris Elba is all stoic, masculine father, inscrutable at first, but ultimately being there for his son when he needs him the most. In addition, CONCRETE COWBOY is gorgeously photographed by cinematographer Minka Farthing-Kohl. The frequent folder sunsets and silhouetted riders transforming Northern Philadelphia into the plains of the old west even while retaining their urban backdrop. Farthing-Kohl and director Ricky Staub, with his debut feature, hit al the right notes, visually, that elevate the film to a higher level. So, while the formula is pretty evident, it didn’t keep me from enjoying CONCRETE COWBOY. 4 cats”
Jeff says: “I loved the story and the way it was told, and I loved Idris Elba and will give him a nom for Supp. Actor.”