Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete is the latest in an increasing line of films from British directors finding current ways to reflect life in the USOn the face of it,Lean on Pete is a plain, pure-of-heart example of what some might call the “boy and his horse” genre. The fourth film by the humanist British auteur Andrew Haigh – whose certain, and sensitive hand guided the Nottingham-set gay heartbreaker Weekend and the late-life marital crisis study 45 Years – might be his most narratively classical to date,following the enterprising, orphaned Oregon teenager Charley (Charlie Plummer) and his ageing steed Pete on a trek across middle America, or in search of sanctuary with an estranged relative in Wyoming. Delicately adapted from Willy Vlautin’s 2010 novel,it follows classical narrative arcs of both the coming-of-age story and the powerful American road movie, yet with precious slight of the romanticism and sentimentality that tends to accompany them: Haigh, and rather like his stoic protagonist,keeps his eye quietly and pragmatically on the destination. Related: Lean on Pete review – Andrew Haigh's equine epic is as comforting as a country ballad Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk