TIFF 2020: Concrete Cowboy
tiff 2020A troubled kid growing up in Detroit, Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) is constantly getting into fights and is on the verge of expulsion. His single mother is at her wit’s end and drives her son to Philadelphia, leaving him with his estranged father for the summer. Cole’s father, Harp (Idris Elba), is an urban cowboy, running a horse stable in North Philadelphia. A completely new world for Cole, he has to reconcile with his father, but trouble continues to tempt him when he runs into his childhood friend Smush (Jharrel Jerome).
Like Cole, Concrete Cowboy is stuck between two worlds. Fundamentally an urban neo-western, the film also morphs into a gangster flick and a heist movie as Cole dives further into the North Philadelphia neighbourhood. Luckily, this works, keeping Concrete Cowboy interesting and compelling. The western genre stems from Cole’s father, staying close to his roots, staying on the good path, while the gangster genre comes from Smush, tempting Cole with fresh kicks and stacks of crisp bills. The movie flits between genres as Cole flits between his life choices.
These subgenres also make Concrete Cowboy a visually extraordinary film. Along with cinematographer Minka Farthing-Kohl, writer-director Ricky Staub crafts a beautiful world on the verge between the past and present. Parked cars and tied-up horses stand together on Fletcher Street. A bonfire set against concrete graffiti. Silhouettes of cowboys are illuminated against pink and purple sunsets, the boys’ faces lit up by the car dash as they roam around the city at night. Each of these aspects further illustrates Cole’s pull in opposite directions, as he struggles with his new setting.
Caleb McLaughlin is for sure the standout of Concrete Cowboy. Working against Idris Elba, McLaughlin takes Cole and turns him into an incredibly complex character, taking the audience through various emotions with each choice he makes. Angry when he yells at his father, disappointed when he chooses to hang out with Smush again, proud when he tames his first horse, Boo. Elba is good in his role of Harp, distant from Cole but still caring, hoping he will become a man on his own accord. There are some scenes between Cole and Harp that feel stretched out and repetitive – constant fights about Cole being out all night or Cole’s mundane tasks at the stables. The other side characters are just as interesting, further contributing to the realism of Concrete Cowboy. Nessi, a next-door neighbour, owes the Fletcher Street Stables while Smush dreams of opening his own stable one day, kicked out of Fletcher Street because of treading with the local gangs.
A number of the other actors are actually real cowboys from Fletcher Street. Jamil “Mil” Prattis plays the wheelchair-bound Paris who still loves riding at every opportunity, while Ivannah Mercedes plays Esha, who always gives Cole advice when it comes to riding the horses. Concrete Cowboy delves into gentrification, something that is plaguing the real-life Fletcher Street. It handles this complex theme quite well, though there is a subplot with a fellow cowboy who also happens to be a cop that feels a little cheesy.
Really, the whole point of Concrete Cowboy – based on the book “Ghetto Cowboy” by Greg Neri – is to highlight this urban cowboy subculture. Rarely are Black cowboys shown on screen, the western genre littered with white men on horses, even though Black and Mexican cowboys were abundant and still present. The real-life Fletcher Street and the Fletcher Street Cowboys are being affected by Philadelphia gentrification, Concrete Cowboy is an effort to raise awareness and protect their lifestyle. Along with a score by Kevin Matley, reminiscent of the classic westerns starring Clint Eastwood, Concrete Cowboy has more than enough to entice fans of classic westerns, while those more interested in contemporary stories will also get their fix. Overall, Concrete Cowboy is a beautiful neo-western that toys with different genres, telling the important story of the urban subculture of Black cowboys.