LEAN ON PETE – Review

Add another animal star to the ever-expanding movie zoo. Now make room Garfield and Benjy,  ’cause he’s a big fella’, part of the equine film lineage. He’s not recreating a true sports legend like SEABISCUIT or SECRETARIAT. No, he’s a descendant of the fictional horses that have had special friendships with their human riders and trainers. It’s a long line going back to BLACK BEAUTY thru NATIONAL VELVET and MY FRIEND FLICKA up to CASEY’S SHADOW and THE BLACK STALLION (plus there’s the sidekick spin-offs such as MY PAL TRIGGER). From the look of this film’s poster art, movie goers might think they’re in for a new version of the sentimental stories of the friendship between a boy and his “four-footed friend”. Well, hold on to the reins, because this tale’s got a curve more surprising than the twistiest of running tracks. Get ready for a bumpy ride when film fans saddle up LEAN ON PETE. And they’re off…

As the story begins, we’re first introduced to the boy in this “boy and his horse” tale. A young man of 16 years actually, one Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer), who’s living with his hard-drinking aimless single dad Ray (Travis Fimmel) in a small Oregon town. The new school year is weeks away, but Charley still jogs in the mornings in order to rejoin the track team. A different running route bring s him to a low-rent horse track. Charley’s fascinated and explores the place. One day he ends up helping out a grizzled, surly horse owner, Del (Steve Buscemi). Del gives Charley a couple of bucks, and hires him as an assistant. The young man is soon loading up the truck, carting supplies, and cleaning the stable of Del’s older horses, the run-down “Lean on Pete”. Despite Del’s warnings, Charley soon becomes emotionally attached to Pete. Back home, Ray is pleased that his son is bringing in some extra money. Then, late one night, an assault from a rival puts Ray in the hospital, and Charley becomes the family breadwinner. Dad insists that he travel with Del on the racing circuit. On the way to a big race, Del picks up his jockey, Bonnie (Chloe Sevigny), who becomes another mentor to Charley. On return trip home, Charley learns of Ray’s passing. His only relative is an estranged aunt, Margy, who lives several states away (and who he hasn’t seen in a decade). Before Family Services swoops in, Charley runs back to Del. The next big race is make or break for Pete. If he doesn’t “place” he’ll be sold to a “business” in Mexico. When the worst happens, Charley decides that he will take Pete with him on the long trek to Margy. Will his love for the horse be enough to see them through their big journey to freedom?

Though the noble steed’s name is the film’s title, this really is the story of Charley played with great sensitivity by relative screen newcomer Plummer, who we saw just a few months ago as the kidnapped heir in ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD. He covers nearly the whole spectrum of emotions with great skill. There’s the awkward teenage indifference, suddenly replaced by his curiosity about the almost alien world of the racetrack. This prompts his intense empathy for the title horse, which leads to despair when Pete just can’t cut it in competition. And Plummer exudes the teen’s over-confidence and impulsiveness that lead to disaster. But Charley doesn’t give up , and Plummer conveys that determination, compelling the audience to root for him to triumph. It helps that Plummer is never overshadowed by a trio of screen vets. The always engaging Buscemi delivers as Del, part mentor, part tough taskmaster, and all curmudgeon. He rewards Charley for his hard work, but admonishes him soon after for his horrific table manners (“chew your food, you’re making me sick”). Most of all, Del is a realist, who doesn’t romanizes his work or horses. The same can be said of Sevigny’s Bonnie, who becomes Charley’s big sister. Though only in a few scenes, she delivers the drama as she tries to tell the smitten Charley that Pete is a commodity, not a pet. The film’s third act introduces the energetic Steve Zahn as Silver, a drifter who advises Charley on how to be street smart. His affable nature quickly turns when Zahn shows us his dark, violent side. Fimmel also does great work as Charley’s doomed daddy.

Director/screenwriter Andrew Haigh adapts Willy Vlautin’s novel with a slow, steady hand. As mentioned earlier, this story up-ends all the Animal/human tales of bonding. Charley’s love for Pete is not enough, and he pays a heavy price for his impulsive hubris (this is not a flick for horse-loving tots). Unfortunately, once the duo leaves the racing area (and Del and Bonnie), the film meanders at a snail’s pace. A side trip visit to a couple of video game playing lunkheads has little purpose. Plus the Zahn-street subplot seems to be dropped in from another film. The locations capture the still untamed parts of the country, but the dusty vistas that dwarf the duo also becomes repetitious. Perhaps with a tighter script and unforgiving editing, LEAN ON PETE would “win”, rather than merely “show”.

3 Out of 5

LEAN ON PETE opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas