Lean on Pete
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Haigh
Screenplay by	Andrew Haigh
Based on	Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin
Produced by	Tristan Goligher
Starring	Charlie Plummer Chloë Sevigny Travis Fimmel Steve Buscemi
Cinematography	Magnus Joenck
Edited by	Jonathan Alberts
Music by	James Edward Barker
Production companies	The Bureau Film4 BFI
Distributed by	Curzon Artificial Eye
Release dates	1 September 2017 (2017-09-01) (Venice) 4 May 2018 (2018-05-04) (United Kingdom)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$8 million[1]
Box office	$2.5 million[2]

Lean on Pete is a 2017 British coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Andrew Haigh, based on the novel of the same name by Willy Vlautin. It stars Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, Travis Fimmel and Steve Buscemi, and follows a 15-year-old boy in the American Northwest, who begins to work at a stable and befriends a racehorse.^[3]

It was screened in the main competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress for Plummer. It was released in the United States on 6 April 2018, by A24, before opening in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2018, by Curzon Artificial Eye. It received highly positive critical reviews, with praise going towards its direction, screenplay, cinematography, and Plummer's performance. The National Board of Review named it one of the ten best independent films of 2018.^[4]

Plot

While out on a morning run to a race track, Charley Thompson, a 15-year-old living with his dysfunctional single father Ray in Portland, Oregon, finds casual work caring for an racehorse named 'Lean On Pete'. Pete's owner, Del, is an ornery man who assigns all the grunt work of caring for horses to Charley but attempts to bond by gifting Charley a pair of boots and teaching him table manners. Charley opens up about not knowing his birth mother, and how his father does not let him see Aunt Margy, Charley's only maternal figure.

One night, a Samoan man breaks into Charley's home and attacks Ray for sleeping with his wife. Ray is pushed through a glass door and is seriously hurt, with the glass shards penetrate his abdomen into his gut. He is taken to the hospital where a doctor informs Charley that Ray is suffering from a serious infection (sepsis) caused by his gut wounds. Despite Charley's insistence on staying by his side, Ray encourages Charley to continue his job with Del.

Del's top jockey, Bonnie, races with Pete and wins but notices that Pete is getting too old for racing and will soon be sold in Mexico to be slaughtered. Upon returning home from the race, Charley is informed by the attending doctor that Ray succumbed to his infection and died. Charley is given Ray's belt and Charley runs from the hospital before Social Services can be called to collect him. The following night, Pete loses his race and is sold for slaughter. Charley confronts Del and Bonnie, who collectively shrug off Charley's request to buy Pete. Charley takes Del's keys and steals Pete, along with Del's truck, and heads for Wyoming in search of his Aunt Margy.

After a few days on the road, Charley soon runs out of money and resorts to siphoning gas and dining-and-dashing in order to survive. The truck breaks down on the highway and he continues on foot through the desert with Pete. Together, they stumble upon the home of Mike and Dallas, two Army veterans who offer Charley food and shelter. Charley is not comfortable staying with Mike and Dallas and Charley refills his water supply and leaves in the middle of the night with Pete. The next day, Pete is spooked by motorcycles and a car racing through the desert and runs out into a desert road where he is hit by a car and killed. Charley mourns Pete's death, the police arrive and are supportive, but Charley flees the scene before he can be taken by the police/child protective services.

After arriving in a new town, Charley breaks into a house in search of water and to launder his clothes. He wanders the streets as a homeless youth before being taken in by a homeless couple named Silver and Martha; Silver scoffs at Charley's attempts to find work. Despite his disheveled appearance, Charley finds work as a house painter and saves up enough money to get to Wyoming. Silver attacks Charley for his money and kicks him out of their shared trailer. Charley obtains a crowbar from a derelict nearby vehicle and beats Silver and takes his money back, he then flees the scene. He buys a bus ticket and arrives in Laramie, Wyoming. He goes to the town's only public library and reunites with his Aunt Margy.

That night, Charley visits Aunt Margy's room after struggling to fall asleep. He confesses the crimes he committed throughout his journey and reveals he suffers from nightmares surrounding the deaths of both Pete and Ray. Aunt Margy consoles Charley as he bursts into tears. Some time later, Charley goes on a morning run through town and stops to admire his new neighborhood.

Cast

• Charlie Plummer as Charley Thompson, Ray’s Son
• Travis Fimmel as Ray Thompson, Charley’s Father
• Chloë Sevigny as Bonnie, A Jockey
• Steve Buscemi as Del Montgomery, Horse Trainer
• Steve Zahn as Silver
• Amy Seimetz as Lynn, Ray’s Love Interest
• Alison Elliott as Aunt Margy
• Justin Rain as Mike
• Lewis Pullman as Dallas
• Frank Gallegos as Santiago
• Julia Prud'homme as Ruby
• Kurt Conroyd as Nurse
• Bob Olin as Mr. Kendall
• Teyah Hartley as Laurie
• Rachael Perrell Fosket as Martha
• Jason Rouse as Mitch

Production

In May 2015, it was announced Andrew Haigh would write and direct the film, based upon the novel of the same name with Tristan Goligher to produce the film under his The Bureau banner, alongside Film4 Productions.^[5] In July 2016, Steve Buscemi joined the cast of the film.^[6] That same month, Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, and Travis Fimmel joined the cast of the film.^[7][8] In September 2016, Steve Zahn, Amy Seimetz and Thomas Mann joined the cast of the film.^[9][10]

James Edward Barker composed the film's score.^[11]

Release

In May 2016, A24 and Curzon Artificial Eye acquired U.S and U.K distribution rights, respectively.^[19] The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 1 September 2017.^[20] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2017^[21] and the BFI London Film Festival on 5 October 2017.^[22]

The film was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on 30 March 2018, however it was pushed back a week to 6 April, and was released in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2018.^[23]

Reception

Critical response

Charlie Plummer received critical acclaim for his performance as Charley Thompson.^{[24][25][26][27][28]}

Lean on Pete received highly positive critical reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 189 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lean on Pete avoids mawkish melodrama, offering an empathetic yet clear-eyed portrayal of a young man at a crossroads that confirms Charlie Plummer as a major talent."^[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[30]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3+1⁄2 stars, saying "I marveled at the humanist depth of the world Haigh creates, one that can only be rendered by a truly great writer and director, working near the top of his game."^[28] Austin Dale of INTO named the film the best of 2018 while grieving its modest box office returns, calling it "both the most American film of the year and the year’s toughest sell."^[31]

Charlie Plummer received widespread praise for his performance,^{[32][33][27][24][28][34]} with Stephanie Zacharek of Time writing his "unstudied grace is the movie’s greatest gift".^[35] Haigh's direction and Magnus Joenck's cinematography was similarly lauded, with Jeffrey Bloomer of Slate commending how the film "slowly becomes a riveting chronicle of survival" and captures moments that are "observational, stoic, but also quietly tender".^{[32][35][26][33][24]}

Critics welcomed the film's departure from other "boy and his horse"-type movies,^[34][32][24] though others noted the film's unsparing plot may prove to be too downbeat for some audiences.^[35][33] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "As Charley's situation becomes increasingly precarious, the movie also becomes a meditation not just on what it is to live on the social and economic fringes in America, but how easy it is to slip through the cracks entirely. That may feel like a bait and switch to viewers who just came for some nice boy-and-his-horse uplift, but Pete is no kind of fairytale; instead, it’s something far sadder and better and more real."^[34]

See also

• List of films about horse racing

References

External links

• Official website
• Lean on Pete at IMDb
• Lean on Pete at Metacritic
• Lean on Pete at Rotten Tomatoes