L'un des nôtres

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.

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.

After a family tragedy for the Blackledge family, grandparents George (Kevin Costner) and Margaret (Diane Lane) are left to bring up baby Jimmy (Bram and Otto Hornung) with mother/daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter). But a few years later, Lorna marries bad-un Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain) and disappears back to Donnie's hillbilly extended family in the wilds of North Dakota, led by the fearsome Blanche Weboy (Lesley Manville). Fearing for the child's wellbeing, Margaret drags retired Sheriff George on a dangerous journey to rescue the child.

There are strong similarities in this story with a sub-plot of the excellent "Ozark", where the psychopathic Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) is intent on having a child to grow up with on her remote ranch. The sense of tension there is recreated here, exacerbated by the movie's extremely slow (read "glacial") pace in its early stages. It's the same sort of rising dread that I felt with "Nocturnal Animals". This reaches its peak at a tense standoff over lamb chops at the Weboy ranch, but we are probably half-way into the film by then.

The slow pace however is broken by a couple of extremely violent scenes that earn the movie its UK-15 certificate. One (no spoilers here!) harks back to another Kevin Costner blockbuster where he was a bit luckier! And the finale turns a slightly sleepy tale of "two old folks" into an 'all guns blazing' action western that's highly unexpected. Although you could argue that this is tonally extremely uneven, it works and makes the movie a lot more memorable than it otherwise would be.

The standout leading performance here is the one from Diane Lane as the mentally tortured Granny pursuing her convictions across the country. Here writer/director Thomas Bezucha gives the character full rein. It's a memorable 'strong female' part, that would have been dominated by the male lead in the writing of films a few years back. Lane delivers a dramatic and rock-solid performance that has Oscar nomination written all over it.

I'm also a big fan of Kevin Costner, not just because he's a solid and reliable actor over many years. I always remember him gamely appearing as "The Postman"/'propeller-guy' in Billy Crystal's hilarious montage opening for the 70th Academy Awards. Anyhow, here he has his meatiest dramatic role in many years, and delivers fully on it. Top job, although I suspect this may not be his year for his elusive Best Actor award.

Finally, rounding out the Oscar hopefuls is the brilliant Lesley Manville as Blanche Weboy. It's a dream of a role for the Brighton-born star, nominated of course for the Best Supporting Actress two years ago for "Phantom Thread". And she is genuinely chilling here, firing on all cylinders like some sort of deranged Bette Davis on speed. She's used sparingly in the movie, but that makes her scenes all the more memorable. Another nomination perhaps? I'd predict so, yes.

I found this to be an uncomfortable watch, since I found myself in a moral quandary with the storyline. It's clear that Margaret is genuinely concerned for the safety of Jimmy (and less so, Lorna). Yet, what she is ultimately prepared to do is consider child abduction, when the law if probably on the side of the other party. Sure, the lifestyle and attitudes of the Weboys are alien to this more traditional "Granny". But although Blanche rules with a Victorian-level of grit, isn't she - at least before any of her more vicious tendencies emerge - entitled to do that? The film firmly roots itself behind the Blackledge's as "the good guys", but the script cleverly has you questioning that at various points,

Two technical categories in "Let Him Go" are also worthy of note. The cinematography is by Guy Godfree, and the sweeping vistas of Montana and North Dakota (actually Alberta in Canada!) are gloriously delivered. And the music by Michael Giacchino - one of my favourite composers - is cello-heavy and fitting for the sombre storyline. I always assess the quality of a score by whether I annoy the cinema cleaners by sitting until the last of the end credits have rolled, and this is one I did that to.

As the last movie I see before Christmas, "Let Him Go" is not exactly a feelgood festive offering. It's a well-crafted and thoughtful story, but not one to make you feel good inside, for the reasons outlined above. If you are a movie-lover though, then it's an interesting watch, if only for the fine acting performances on offer.

(For the full graphical review, please check out "Bob the Movie Man" on the web. Thanks.)

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 .

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.