by John Zenoni
I was fortunate enough to see an advanced virtual screening for this film last night and I'm so glad as this is a great one. Let me preface this review by saying that the trailer is somewhat misleading, just a little in my opinion, in that it makes it appear that this is going to be a fast, action packed film. Yes, it does happen but I'll get into that later.
First, let me start with the premise of the story and then delve into what specifically makes this a great film.
Kevin Costner and Diane Lane (who has always been underrated in my opinion and I dare anyone to find a bad performance by her) play a husband and wife who live on a beautiful ranch/horse farm with their only child, a son, and his wife and little grandson.
***Spoiler alert***
A horrible accident happens and the son is thrown off his horse and killed leaving them with the daughter-in-law and grandson. You can tell that the love Diane Lane’s character has for little Jimmy is intense and she will do anything for him. As years pass, the daughter-in-law remarries, breaking Diane Lane’s character’s heart for fear she won’t see her grandson again. They do move but live nearby until unexpectedly, when going to pay a visit, Diane Lane’s character learns that they have packed up and gone. What scares her is she had been in town on a previous day and observed the new husband hit both the daughter-in-law and little Jimmy. Well after hearing they've left town, Diane Lane’s character is determined to go find them and bring Jimmy back home to live them. This is where the drama begins.
First, I have to mention the cinematography in this film. Absolutely stunning and gorgeous! It's been a long time since I've seen a film show such beautiful scenery in so many scenes. What I also love is how the moments even in scenes like a luncheon diner capture the time period and make you feel like you've gone back in time.
The next thing is the dialogue. A host of a live after-screening event last night made this same comment when talking to cast members and the director and I'm in agreement with him. There are moments - a good many in fact, especially early on - where the dialogue is little-to-none and you only see interaction between Kevin Costner and Diane Lane by their body language or facial expressions. But it makes no difference because these are experienced actors and they're telling the story between each other themselves. It's great to see. As a critic for Roger Ebert wrote, “Subtle moments, all, but they do so much to set the scene and establish the themes of regret and redemption in 'Let Him Go'.” This is the kind of solid, grown-up drama we don’t see very often anymore.” Totally agree!
As for the other performances in the film, they're all very good especially that of Lesley Manville, a British actor, who plays Blanche Weboy, the other grandmother, and all I can say is, ‘Wow!’ She knocks her performance out of the park as the ‘gangster’ style mother of a group of sons who are crude, ruthless and mean. Apparently, even the neighboring police don’t play with this family due to their antics and how they treat everyone. People are scared to death of them and, of course, mother Weboy isn't going to let little Jimmy go without a fight, and fight they do. This is when the action picks up and there is one scene in particular with Kevin Costner that made me cringe as it shows how horrible the Weboy family is. But they took on more than they should have with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane’s characters. One thing is the ending is not completely as you would have expected or wanted but that's something that I found fresh and appealing.
Great film!
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