Western Wednesdays: The Kid (2019)

     The Kid was released on March 8th, 2019. Directed by Vincent D'Onofrio, who also co-wrote the film with Andrew Lanham the film stars Jake Schur as Rio Cutler, a young boy who gets caught up in the conflict between Pat Garrett (Ethan Hawke) and Billy the Kid (Dane DeHaan) after murdering his abusive father and fleeing the scene along with his older sister Leila George's Sara Cutler.

     "A man's wrongs matter," Pat Garrett tells a young Rio Cutler early in the film, "but there's nothing as important as what he does next." This is in many way the central theme in the film. Violence matters, it leaves a mark, a psychological impact, that doesn't just go away. A man has to live with the violence he commits. Thematically The Kid is a very traditional western, one that explores the consequences and, ultimately, the necessity of violence in an imperfect world. In the film's opening scene Rio commits his first act of violence. We later hear about the first killing committed by both Pat and Billy recounted in their own words. Each man is shaped by what they did, for better or for worse.

     Rio is at first horrified that he has killed his father. His sister Sara tells him, "What you did, Rio, you had to do. You saved our lives." As the film goes on Rio continues to wrestle with what he's done. He is attracted to Billy at first in part because the outlaw seems so indifferent about his violent past. It is only in the climax that he finally comes to terms with the necessity of his act and is able to kill a second time, giving his uncle Grant (an almost unrecognizable Chris Pratt) his just deserts.

     Dane DeHaan's Billy is a man of contradictions. He's a violent man who can't escape his past but he seems to take things in stride, supremely confident that he will continue to elude justice. These qualities attract Rio to him. He seems to live up to the legend. Eventually we find that he's a far more vulnerable and regretful man then he at first appears. He tells Rio about the first man he killed and how it felt like "a part of me, pulled straight from my chest. This long, unendin' thing of my soul." The reason he has no fear is because nothing matters to him anymore.

     As portrayed by Ethan Hawke, Pat Garrrett is at first a bit of a mystery. When we first meet him he is calmly shaving himself while his men keep Billy and his gang pinned down in a shack. Afterwards, he is disturbed to learn that the man who agreed to turn Billy in was killed during the shootout. He appears to be an honorable man, taking Billy to Lincoln County for a trial despite opposition from Sheriff Romero (D'Onofrio) and his men who would like to see him hanged in Sante Fe. Like James Coburn in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Garrett seems constantly at odds with himself here. Unlike Peckinpah's character however Hawke's Pat is not a mercenary concerned with his place in the "new west" but a man torn between his duty to the law and his personal conscience. When, in his absence,  Billy escapes and one of his men is killed, the Sheriff finally decides to kill his old acquaintance, rather then risk more bloodshed. By the end of the film his presence is reassuring. Having taken the high road he is determined to help Rio reunite with his sister.

     It's here that another theme emerges. After he kills Billy, Garrett tells his deputy, "I shot Billy the Kid" and there is a sense of importance in this rather banal statement. Pat understands that this will be his legacy and so he tells Grant Cutler, as the two are facing off, "It doesn't matter what's true. It matters the story they tell when you're gone!" This of course hearkens back to that classic western idea, best exemplified in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance that the judgement of history is based on legend as much as fact. If Grant runs away at this point, it will ultimately be viewed as cowardice in the face of the legendary lawman Pat Garrett.

     As much as I liked the film, I have to admit it is terribly flawed. In general, the film is not too subtle in the way it presents it's themes and, while this is helpful when writing a review, it can be rather heavy handed when watching the movie. There's also occasionally out of place and overly contemporary sounding dialogue (Billy says "Come on man" when asking the deputy to be let out to relieve himself). The pacing is really erratic at times. When Rio and Sara decide to stay in Sante Fe they are accosted, almost immediately, by Grant, who takes her away. Then, in a scene that feels like it takes place the next morning, Billy's companion Dave, who is about to be hung, gives Rio a message from Billy, telling him that Billy knows where Grant has taken Sara. Obviously a great deal of time must have past in order for this message to be delivered, but there is no transition to suggest this. In addition to this, the fact that Billy, who is in jail, just happened to obtain this information is incredibly contrived.

     Nevertheless, this is a well made western. The cast is terrific all around, especially Hawke and DeHaan, who both breath a lot of life into these well worn characters. The cinematography by Matthew J. Lloyd is excellent and D'Onofrio's unobtrusive direction allows the story to play out economically. There is a real clarity to the action which is told largely in wide shots, while the conversations are all done in intense closeups and mediums. The authentic costume and set design lend the otherwise philosophical film a sense of realism and history.

     All in all The Kid is a much better film then it's reputation would suggest despite its flaws.

Score: 8/10