Following the loss of their son, a retired
sheriff and his wife leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the
clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas.
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Cast: Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Lesley Manville, Will Brittain, Jeffrey Donovan,
Kayli Carter, Booboo Stewart
Release Date: November 6, 2020
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated R for violence
Runtime: 1 h 54 min
Review:
Let Him Go is meditative
western that’s really heavily on it’s cast since it’s story and plot are
decidedly light. Thomas Bezucha slow
burn of a film is an interesting mix of idolized nostalgia and crime
drama. Bezucha takes his time letting us
get to know the main couple before moving the film’s plot forward in
earnest. Kevin Costner & Diane Lane make for a believable and good looking pair of
grandparents. They both add far more
subtle and nuance to their characters than what’s in the actual script. Through their talents they give us a relationship
that feel real and lived in, making it the cornerstone of the entire film. Lesley Manville’s villainous Blanche is a
much showier role and she’s excellent in limited screen time. The film would have been wise to give us a
tad more depth or history to her character and the Weboy clan as a whole. As is, they’re thinly drawn evil ciphers
whose sole purpose is to terrorize the protagonist. The lack of depth wouldn’t be such an issue
if you couldn’t spot story threads in the early part of the film that are
presented and ultimately abandoned.
Ultimately, the performances alone make this a rewarding watch even with
its pedestrian pacing and thin characters.
B-
