Lean on Pete (15)

BORDERLINES FILM FESTIVAL 2018

British director Andrew Haigh (45 Years) leaves intimate English landscapes for the bigger, brighter sweep of the American West with this adaptation of Willy Vlautin’s acclaimed novel. Charley Thompson is a 15-year-old with no constants in his life. He craves a home, food on the table and a regular high school but as the son of an affectionate, but undependable and itinerant single father, such stability is hard to find. Charley takes a summer job in Portland with Del, a washed-up horse trainer, and develops a strong attachment for a failing racehorse named ‘Lean on Pete’. Through Charley’s journey, an escape that turns into a quest, Haigh manages to convey the character of the Pacific Northwest – diners, trucks and vast, blinding vistas – while retaining the subtle observation and emotional weight of his previous films.

Director: Andrew Haigh
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny
UK, 2017, 2 hours 1 minute