Concrete Cowboy is a drama starring Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things) as Cole, a troubled teenager from Detroit who gets into a fight at school, resulting in his expulsion. His mother, not knowing who else to turn too, sends him to live with his estranged father, Harp, played by Idris Elba (Luther).
Harp is a cowboy, overseer of the city stables; and between dealing with developers seeking to gentrify the streets, he now finds himself having to raise his son and dissuade him from becoming entangled in the seedy underbelly of Philadelphia.
Based on the 2011 novel, Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri, the film follows Cole as he tries to figure out who he wants to be. It is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of an urban-Western; delving into the relationship between man and horse, and father and son.
When envisioning cowboys, the first image to come to mind for many is white people trekking across a vast wasteland. Concrete Cowboy shows us that there is more than one story, and casts a much needed spotlight on the tradition of the African-American cowboys, a community that has suffered in modern times.
When I first saw the trailer for this film, I knew I had wanted to watch it, but I had not realised how deeply moving this film was going to be. The cinematography is one of the strongest assets of the film, especially when paired alongside the soundtrack to stunning effect. At times I found myself on the edge of my seat, hand clamped over my mouth – other times I found myself cheering.
Concrete Cowboy is raw and authentic; it is a film with heart that is a joy to experience for all those who love the art of storytelling.
