Lean on Pete

2018 horse and boy movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A boy befriends an abused racehorse after he starts working with Steve Buscemi and then experiences some trauma.

The best thing about this boy-and-a-horse movie is that nothing that is supposed to happen in these movies seems to happen even though the narrative seems to take us in similar directions. It challenges viewers used to movies where protagonists befriend animals by not giving them what they want.

Charlie Plummer is really something here, and I'm not even giving him bonus points for playing a character with a homophonic name which I'm assuming could be really confusing. He plays this stoic teen, and it's never in a way that feels traditional. When he needs to unleash, life becoming too much for him to hold in all these emotions, it feels natural because you know those emotions were underneath the surface all along. It's really a very sophisticated performance.

Steve Buscemi is as good as he usually is, this time in dual roles. He plays his typically slimy character, Lean on Pete's unscrupulous owner, but he also plays the horse.

Edit: I did some research and have found out that Buscemi doesn't actually play the horse.