Lean on Pete review – coming-of-age quest for a horse and his boy

British director Andrew Haigh’s modern American odyssey sees Charlie Plummer excel as a teen fleeing grim realitiesA performance of remarkable depth, candour and vulnerability by rising star Charlie Plummer lies at the heart of this terrifically moving fourth feature film from British writer-director Andrew Haigh.

Adapted from the 2010 novel by Willy Vlautin, Lean on Pete blends timeless American myths with pin-point portrayals of modern urban hardship, as its lonely teenage lead heads east from Oregon with a horse on its last hurrah.

The travails are tough but there’s an unsentimental tenderness at the centre of Haigh’s movie – a melancholic counterpoint to the grim realities of life from which our young hero flees.Plummer plays Charley Thompson, a lanky 15-year-old (he lies about his age) who has moved home umpteen times with his single father, Ray (Travis Fimmel).

With dreams of playing for the high-school football team blighted by a nomadic lifestyle,

Read full article