Movie Breakdown: Concrete Cowboy

Pre-Screening Stance:

I have not read Greg Neri’s book, Ghetto Cowboy, that Concrete Cowboy is based on, but I have always liked Idris Elba and coming of age stories, so I’m eager to give the film a whirl.

Post-Screening Ramble:

There’s a great story in Concrete Cowboy, but the film does well to avoid telling it. Set in Philadelphia, the plot is centered around Cole (Caleb McLaughlin), a troubled teen who has been sent to stay with his father, Harp (Idris Elba). The move to living with his estranged pops is hard enough for the boy, but he’s thrown for an even bigger loop when he discovers that dear old dad is an integral part of an urban cowboy group. So, Cole has to figure out his own shit and his rocky relationship with Harp, and he has to do it while navigating a niche culture he knows nothing about.

Here’s the deal, what I just described – the coming of age portion of Concrete Cowboy – is what really hampers it, as Cole’s journey out of his pit of immaturity is one that lacks anything interesting or engaging. He’s just an angsty teen who needs an outlet to channel his rage into, and he gets one via the stables. OK, great. The better story here though is with Harp. He’s embedded in something that’s so neat and unique, and the film really perks up when he and his cowboys are highlighted. There’s just not enough of that though, and the movie intermittently drags because of it.

Concrete Cowboy isn’t bad, it just isn’t good either. Unless you just really want to see Idris Elba in a cowboy hat, I wouldn’t be in any hurry to watch it. The film will hit Netflix this Friday, April 2.

One Last Thought:

It’s pretty weird seeing Method Man as a cowboy police officer named Leroy. I’ll give it to the Wu-Tang Clan member though, he’s pretty good in the role.