Let Him Go: Movie Review
Man of Steel co-stars Kevin Costner and Diane Lane reunite for writer/director Thomas Bezucha’s thriller Let Him Go, based on the novel by Larry Watson. It’s interesting seeing Costner and Lane playing a married couple on a farm once again. Within minutes of the film’s opening, I found myself waiting for Clark Kent to enter the picture. Maybe it was simply a coincidence that Ryan Bruce, the actor who was cast as their son, kind of resembles Superman. Now, with that out of the way, I can say that is where the similarities end. This is not a comic book film by any means, but it has no problem in delivering the pulp.
Margaret and George Blackledge (Lane and Costner respectively) live a simple life. They live on a farm with their son James, their daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter) and their grandson Jimmy. After an accident takes the life of James, leaving Lorna a widow, the family struggles to cope with the loss. After some time passes, Lorna re-marries Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain). When Margaret witnesses Donnie being physically abusive to Lorna on the street one day, she decides to pay the new family a visit, only to discover that they suddenly moved out of town without notice.
Margaret is more than a little concerned for her grandson and she packs up the car with a reluctant George going along for the ride to locate Lorna and Jimmy. Soon after they arrive to Donnie’s hometown, Margaret and George begin to discover that the Weboy family may be a powerful and dangerous clan. It becomes all-too-clear that their grandson is not in the best environment when we meet the patriarch of the family Blanche Weboy (Lesley Manville), who has her own way of raising a family of sadistic criminals. She also makes us really want to try her pork chops.
Let Him Go is for the most part a sort of crime-family-drama with a mix of pulpy western. However, what makes the film work for the most part is the excellent cast. Lane and Manville in particular shine as Margaret and Blanche. There is also a good deal of building tension as the story progresses. If I had one gripe with the film is that the pacing is just super slow. Still, the casting as well as some interesting choices by Bezucha help make this one more than what could have been B-movie fare.
By: Marc Ferman
