Review: Concrete Cowboy

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Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) has fucked up at school for the last time. His mother ships him off to Philly to spend the summer with his estranged father, Harp (Idris Elba) who is part of a community of black cowboys. 

You all know my love for Idris Elba, and McLaughlin is my favorite kid on Stranger Things so I've been excited to see this for a while. Even with the somewhat lukewarm reception it was getting, I still held out hope.

And it's fine! I actually enjoyed quite a bit about this movie. The first being that for the majority of the story, it feels so different. "Black pain" is a subject that's been talked about a lot recently. Everyone's tired of it, so watching a film where poverty seemed to be a central theme gave me pause, but while it falls into a few annoying tropes, the story is different enough to keep you engaged.

Truthfully, Elba is not in this very much, but McLaughlin holds his own well and supporting players like Lourraine Toussant and EMMY WINNER Jharrel Jerome are great in their parts. I also knew nothing about cowboys being in Philly. Over the credits they briefly interview real Fletcher Street riders who have smaller parts in the film and I liked hearing from them. I wish we could've heard more.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B-

Memorable Quote: "Hard things come before good things." - Nessie (Lourraine Toussant)

Comments

  1. thevoid99April 28, 2021 at 4:33 PM

    I do want to see this. Who cares if it doesn't reach great heights. As long as it has a good story to tell with characters I can connect with. I'm cool.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 28, 2021 at 8:31 PM

      Exactly. It's good enough, and Caleb has a bright future.

      Delete
  2. Often Off TopicApril 29, 2021 at 2:21 AM

    Ooh okay, I wasn't going to watch this but I think you've convinced me! Gutted that Idris Elba in cowboy get-up isn't it in a lot, though! ;D

    ReplyDelete

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