Review: Let Him Go

Set in the 1960s, George (Kevin Costner) and wife Margaret (Diane Lane) live on a ranch in Montana with their son and his new wife, and their young boy. Unfortunately, early in the film George and Margaret lose their son in a tragic, sudden death. Cut to a few years later and former daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter) has just been married to a guy with the clearly douchebag loser name of Donnie Weboy (played Will Britain). When Margaret is out shopping one day she witnesses Donnie being physically abusive to both Lorna and the kid. When she later goes to confront the couple about this, she finds they have suddenly vanished. Undeterred, Margaret and a rather reluctant George travel to North Dakota in search of other members of the Weboy clan in the hopes of finding Lorna and their grandson. Lesley Manville plays the Weboy family matriarch, with Jeffrey Donovan another of the clan.

 

Put “Taken”, “The Searchers”, and “No Country For Old Men” in a blender and you might get something resembling this effective 2020 film from writer-director Thomas Bezucha (“The Family Stone”). Based on a Larry Watson novel, the tone isn’t always entirely consistent, but with a bunch of good performances and characters one cares about, you’ll hopefully go along with it as I did.

 

It’s nice to see Kevin Costner and Diane Lane playing a couple outside of the superhero genre. Having these two very relatable actors and screen personas go on this particular journey together gives the film a different vibe than say Liam Neeson breaking limbs in Eastern Europe to protect/seek vengeance on behalf of his family. It’s a western-thriller/drama, basically. I genuinely liked and cared about this couple and wanted the best for them and their grandson. Costner reminds me of a combination of three actors familiar with the western genre: Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, and Jimmy Stewart – all symbols of morality and decency (though Stewart was a touch ornery and reticent in those Anthony Mann westerns), which tends to be Costner’s best asset as an actor too. He’s perfectly cast. Diane Lane however, towers over everyone here with an outstanding portrayal of fierce loyalty and protection of family without being forceful. She’s a really natural, relatable actress who is never showy. She was even good in “Jack”, which was an otherwise very difficult film to take.

 

The villains of the story are well represented by Jeffrey Donovan and a startling Lesley Manville doing a Bette Davis meets Dame Judith Anderson Southern Gothic special as the villainous matriarch from hell. Donovan is immediately untrustworthy and oily, the only mystery being whether he’s gonna turn out to be the worst member of his family or not. It’s a good performance from the uneven but versatile actor who here reminded me of vintage, slimy Dan Duryea. He’s hilariously disingenuous from his first moment. Manville deftly walks a tightrope playing a truly vile, revolting woman. She swings from the fences and gets away with it, dialling it back just enough to not be fatuous scenery-chewing. Whilst she and Donovan are the least subtle things about an otherwise fairly subtle and grounded film, they somehow don’t work against the film even though you acknowledge that they’re a bit heightened. I think that credit largely goes to the bond we’ve already formed with the leads, who one utterly believes in. The director builds a nice sense of dread and unease without being over-the-top, either. It’s tense as hell, and somewhat claustrophobic once the central couple sit down to dinner with the in-laws.

 

It’s probably a touch facetious to call this Kevin Costner and Diane Lane’s “Taken”, but there’s similar themes here in this western/thriller-drama. Tense, well-acted by a great cast, it’s really solid stuff.  

 

Rating: B-