By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Kevin Costner and Diane Lane?s new movie,
?Let Him Go? will easily land on my Best Of The Year Top 20 Movies List.
It?s really that good.
?Let Him Go? is directed by
Thomas Bezucha (?Big Eden? and ?Monte Carlo?) and adapted from Larry Watson?s 2013 novel of the same name.
It?s a moving, old fashion Western about family, love, loss, and stone-cold revenge.
Costner plays George Blackledge, a retired sheriff who now enjoys spending time at their ranch house with his wife Margaret (Lane) their son James (Bruce Ryan, TV?s ?Obsession: Her Final Vengeance?), daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter, TV?s ?Mrs. America?) and their adorable grandson Jimmy (Otto and Bran Hornung).
When James is killed during a horse-riding accident, their happy homelife is shattered. Then when Lorna decides to remarry, they are surprised that she chose Donny Weboy (Will Brittain, ?Kong: Skull Island? and ?Blow the Man Down?) because his family-- including his mother Blanche (an outstanding Lesley Manville, TV?s ?Love Life? and ?Save Me?)--have a reputation for being a bunch of lawless bullies. They seem to have everyone throughout Montana and North Dakota scared to death of them.
James and Margaret know that Lorna is making a bad decision marrying Donny.
Their worst fears about him come to light. At first, they notice how he treats Lorna, and they sense that he doesn?t like the idea of all of them living together.
So, out of the blue Donny decides to pack up and take Lorna and Jimmy and live with his family. They don?t even bother telling George and Margaret their plans. They end up finding out from neighbors and friends when they left.
It?s killing Margaret to be away from her grandbaby for so long. She?s determined to see them. So, she loads up the station wagon with food, clothes and a little something extra just in case the Weboys want to show out and she asks George to come along.
During their travels they meet a shy Native American teen named Peter (Booboo Stewart, ?The Twilight Saga?). He even tells them to be careful around the Weboys.
Margaret and James first find Bill Weboy (a terrific Jeffrey Donovan ?Sicario? and TV?s ?Burn Notice?). He?s a smart aleck and trouble from the jump. James knows it too and he?s not afraid of him. At least not yet. Even more snarky is Mama Weboy (Manville) who makes veiled threats toward them and insists that Jimmy is staying put.
When Margaret tells Blanche, that Donny is assaulting Lorna and Jimmy, that ticks off the entire Weboys clan. It also sets up a shocking and brutal confrontation with both families that will have you on the edge of your seat.
?Let Him Go? is a must-see.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"LET HIM GO"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
