Deixe-o Partir

Back in the 80's and 90's Kevin Costner was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet . He starred in some brilliant ( if not long ) movies but for some reason started to get a negative reputation and I'm not quite sure why . Perhaps Waterworld is to blame ? . Watching Let Him Ho you can see the man is still a very good actor but in this , he is outshone by two women.

Costner plays a retired sheriff and Diane Lane plays his wife, who ate grieving over the death of their son, they then set out to find their only grandson.

The biggest compliment I can give this film is that it reminds me a lot of Straw Dogs .

The couple have the almost impossible task of dealing with the hillbilly Weboy family who is lead by Blanche who is played brilliantly by Lesley Manville . In fact so brilliantly, she steals the show from Lane and Costner.

I enjoyed this much more than I expect.

For the most part it's a slow burner but there are plenty of tense action scenes in it to not make it dull.

Not bad at all .

This story is dark in many ways, but at the heart of it are two grieving grandparents (badass grandparents though) who want to save their toddler grandson from terrible criminals. Complex and thoughtful, it's the perfect mix of drama and suspense. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are amazing. This is a finely drawn drama with high stakes tension.

Both Costner and Lane are among our favorites, it is hard to find either of them in a bad or even lackluster role. Here they are a long time couple, he is a retired law enforcement professional. Set in the early 1960s, they live on a small horse ranch in Montana, they have a married adult son and a small grandson. In an unfortunate riding accident their son dies, the D. I. L. Remarries a couple of years later. Then the newlyweds leave town suddenly and without saying goodbye.

Turns out the new husband is abusive and is part of an evil bunch in North Dakota. The grandparents want to protect their grandson, they know he is not safe, they go to find him. The evil family does not cooperate. The first half is kinda slow as things build, the second half has more action than the grandparents planned for.

Interesting story, the movie is very well made. My wife and I watched it on DVD from our public library.

I didn't expect the story to be so dark and disturbing. It is probably too dark for me to enjoy, but it is still engaging.

Let Him Go is a western-gothic crime thriller with a North Western setting and some resemblance to vintage oaters like The Searchers. The search has elemental film roots with mental and physical violence enhanced by Leslie Manville as a bad grandma and her wicked sons.

It's fun to see the bad guys get roughed up. It's also satisfying to see the searching-for-family motif of contemporary super-hero films played out in the Western plains even if it was filmed in Calgary. The craggy mountains and little towns complement the late fifties setting when love and crime occur in simple but stark ways.

Retired Montana Sheriff George (Kevin Costner) and his wife, Margaret (Diane Lane), search for their grandson, Jimmy (Bram Hornung and Otto Hornung) after the death of their son, James (Ryan Bruce). Former daughter in law Lorna (Kavli Carter) has left abruptly with new husband, Donny Weboy (Will Britain), and grandson, relocating under duress to North Dakota and his family- Weboy territory where matriarch Blanche (Manville) wields absolute power. Very bad move. The chase begins.

Lane and Costner are in top-aging form, tough and tenderhearted enough to fight the Weboy clan for the grandson. This is a different, more nuanced role for them when they were Superman's parents. Let Him Go adds an authenticity to the thriller formula by emphasizing the devotion of the loving couple to each other and their quest to keep the family whole, or at least provide a fitting family life for their grandson.

The usual Western tropes apply like the corrupt sheriff, bad grandma and sons, the kind stranger, the tough mother, and the epic ending battle. What goes beyond the formula is the sincere love propelling the plot and corralling our hearts. And, of course, the fully-seasoned Lane and Costner.

Let Him Go is much more than the genre it represents.