Lean on Pete (2017)

Directed by: Andrew Haigh | 122 minutes | adventure, drama | Actors: Charlie Plummer, Amy Seimetz, Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi, Jason Beem, Tolo Tuttele, Ayanna Berkshire, Connor Brenes, Kurt Conroyd, Chloë Sevigny, Dennis Fitzpatrick, Rusty Tennant, Julia Prud’homme, Jason Rouse, Lewis Pullman, Justin Rain, Bob Olin, Teyah Hartley

Since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, the American underclass has been catching up as a source of inspiration for filmmakers. While diversity is becoming increasingly important, the ‘forgotten America’ is increasingly proving to be a grateful source from which directors can draw. This is no different in ‘Lean on Pete’. The characters live by the day, lead a pretty hopeless existence and would rather grab the bottle than try to improve life for themselves.

He lives in a trailer park, has an alcoholic father who changes partners every week and spends his days mostly running and watching TV. After dropping out of school and sports, 15-year-old Charley (Charlie Plummer) leads a pretty hopeless life. One day, Charley is hired by local horse owner Del (the always good Steve Buscemi). While working, Charley slowly becomes attached to racehorse ‘Lean on Pete’. When Del decides that Pete is no longer profitable and his father ends up in the hospital seriously injured, Charley impulsively decides to run off with Pete. What follows is an intense and at times hellish journey in which Charley goes in search of his aunt, in whom he sees a mother figure.

If all this sounds like a great opportunity for a road trip through beautiful American landscapes: forget it. ‘Lean on Pete’ mainly leads the viewer past dilapidated roadside restaurants, aggressive homeless people and barren plains. It is precisely those moments when America looks like a desolate third world country in which daily life is a continuous struggle.

‘Lean on Pete’ mainly revolves around Charley’s quest for stability. In that light, ‘Lean on Pete’ might be a coming of age movie, but an incredibly gritty one. For most of the film you see Charley struggling and suffering, which makes you almost want to beg the makers towards the end for a happy ending for the boy. That is also the credit of Charlie Plummer, who takes the film to a higher level with his natural and cool acting and gives his character just enough depth at the right moments. Charley is a character who deserves a hug and a home and the makers manage to capture that feeling almost perfectly. You could almost run to the screen to give Charley a hug.

Still, the film wants to say a little too much about today’s America. Especially in the second half, the new characters become very interchangeable and serve more as a filler. A shame, because in the first hour especially Steve Buscemi and Chloë Sevigny are a nice addition to Charley’s life. In the second half, a small subplot suddenly has to be introduced about two veterans and a grandfather who insults his chubby granddaughter. It is not necessary and distracts from the story.

‘Lean on Pete’ shows in an excellent way that coming of age films don’t always have to be light or easy to digest. In fact, the film is at times so gray and hard on its main character that you have to get emotionally involved with Charley as a viewer. Although ‘Lean on Pete’ is far from easy to look at, it has become one of the most honest films in ages, where you can only hope that Charley will finally find peace and security at some point.