Let Him Go

Let Him Go is a 2020 American neo-Western drama film produced, written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Larry Watson. The film stars Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as a retired sheriff and his wife, who set out to find their only grandchild after their son dies, and encounter an "off-the-grid" family, led by Lesley Manville.

Let Him Go
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThomas Bezucha
Produced by
  • Mitchell Kaplan
  • Paula Mazur
  • Thomas Bezucha
Screenplay byThomas Bezucha
Based onLet Him Go
by Larry Watson
Starring
Music byMichael Giacchino
CinematographyGuy Godfree
Edited by
Production
company
Mazur Kaplan Company
Distributed by
Release date
  • November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)
Running time
114 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$10.5 million[1][2]

The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 6, 2020, by Focus Features. It grossed $10.5 million and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1963 Montana, retired sheriff George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) and his wife Margaret (Diane Lane) live with their son James (Ryan Bruce), his wife Lorna (Kayli Carter), and their newborn grandson, Jimmy. One day while James is out riding his horse, Lorna readies a sink bath for Jimmy. While bathing Jimmy, the wild horse comes running back through the farm without James. George finally finds James dead alongside a creek. It is assumed that he died from being thrown from the horse, breaking his neck.

Three years later, Lorna marries Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain). While out one day, Margaret sees Donnie physically abusing both his wife and now 3-year-old Jimmy. Margaret decides to visit Lorna and Jimmy at their new home, without knowing that Donnie has decided to leave town with Lorna and Jimmy. When she discovers that Donnie, Lorna and Jimmy have left without even saying goodbye, Margaret worries over Jimmy's safety. She eventually convinces George that the situation is dire enough to intervene, and the two set off to find the family.

Various sources clue them into the whereabouts of the Weboy family, until finally Margaret and George locate Donnie's uncle, Bill Weboy (Jeffrey Donovan), in Gladstone, North Dakota. Their initial meeting is cold, but Margaret refuses to be intimidated and accepts Bill's invitation to the Weboys' homestead for dinner. At dinner, they meet Donnie's family, including Blanche (Lesley Manville), Donnie's intimidating and disturbing mother. Her charms do not last long as the dinner conversation progresses and an attempt from Margaret to hold Jimmy in her arms turns sour. Not feeling welcome anymore, they leave the Weboy house.

George and Margaret meet Lorna at work the next day, and convince her to go back to Montana with them. She then plans to leave her home at midnight, and tells them to wait for her at their hotel. At 2 AM, instead of Lorna, the Weboys, having supposedly caught Lorna sneaking out, visit George and Margaret at the hotel. Margaret tries to convince Blanche by telling her about the physical abuse Donnie did to Lorna and her child, but Blanche hits Margaret and then tells Donnie to hit her even stronger. George intervenes and later pulls out his pistol but is overpowered by the Weboys and the fingers of his right hand are hacked off by them with a hatchet as a form of punishment for having threatened them with a gun.

The local police sheriff sides with the Weboys and tells George and Margaret to leave. They do so but due to George's health, have to make a stop. They stop at Peter's house. Peter (Booboo Stewart) is a young Native American man they had met while on the way to the Weboys' estate. Later that night, George takes the car and leaves for the Weboys' house alone. After acquiring a shotgun from their house and starting a fire as a distraction, he attempts to help Lorna and Jimmy escape. He holds Donnie, who was sleeping beside her, at gunpoint and urges her to take Jimmy and leave. Donnie tries to take over George, but George knocks him out with the butt of the shotgun. At the same time, the others are awakened by the smell of fire. Bill comes out of his room and stops Lorna and Jimmy in the upstairs hallway. He takes Jimmy from Lorna and pushes her down the stairs. George points his gun at Bill but Blanche comes hurriedly out the room with her pistol, accidentally kills Bill, and then shoots George. The rest of the Weboy brothers appear, but George takes control of Blanche's gun and kills them, giving Lorna a chance to escape outside with Jimmy.

Margaret and Peter, who had followed George on horseback, receive Lorna and Jimmy outside the Weboy house. They then go to help George out of the house, but are stopped by Blanche, who shoots and kills George. In retaliation, Margaret kills Blanche with the shotgun. She then takes Lorna and Jimmy and leaves in the car, with the Weboy house burning in the wake. Margaret thanks Peter for all the help he gave her and says goodbye to him. The film ends with Margaret, Lorna, and Jimmy driving out of Gladstone.

Cast

Production

The film was announced in February 2019, with Thomas Bezucha directing his screenplay based on Larry Watson's novel, and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane attached to star. Bezucha would also produce the film with Paula Mazur and Mitchell Kaplan.[3] Filming began in April 2019 in Calgary, with Lesley Manville, Will Brittain, Jeffrey Donovan and Kayli Carter added to the cast.[4] Booboo Stewart was added in May.[5] Filming lasted through May 17.[6]

Release

The film was released by Focus Features on November 6, 2020.[7] It was previously scheduled to be released on August 21, 2020,[8] but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The studio spent an estimated $8 million promoting the film.[10]

Reception

Box office and VOD

Let Him Go grossed $9.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $10.5 million.[1]

The film made $1.5 million from 2,454 theaters on its first day, including $150,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $4 million, becoming the second straight Focus Features film to top the box office after Come Play had the week prior. The audience was 66% over the age of 35, with 52% being female.[11] The film made $1.8 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Freaky,[12] then $710,000 in its third.[13][10]

In its fourth weekend of release the film made $453,000 from 1,447 theaters (and $670,000 over the five-day Thanksgiving frame).[14] The film became available via VOD on the same weekend, and was the top-rented film on FandangoNow and Apple TV, and sixth on Google Play.[15] The following weekend the film made $208,610,[16] and finished first on Spectrum, second on FandangoNow, and ninth on Google Play.[17]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Let Him Go's uneven blend of adult drama and revenge thriller is smoothed over by strong work from a solid veteran cast."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 82% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 50% saying they would definitely recommend it.[11]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Costner and Lane's performances, saying they "give it their all in a genre film that fuses suspense with honest emotion."[20] Writing for The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, saying: "A skilfully executed thriller that is narrowly aimed at one demographic – audiences over 50 who like a little violence with their late-life dramas – but succeeds at entertaining just about anyone who comes across its dusty, blood-soaked path."[21]

References
  1. "Let Him Go (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  2. "Let Him Go (2020)". The Numbers. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  3. McNary, Dave (February 20, 2019). "Kevin Costner, Diane Lane to Reunite in Suspense Thriller 'Let Him Go'". Variety. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  4. Lesley Manville, Will Brittain Join Kevin Costner Thriller 'Let Him Go' (Exclusive)
  5. Kevin Costner’s ‘Let Him Go’ Adds ‘X-Men’ Actor Booboo Stewart (EXCLUSIVE)
  6. https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/movies/kevin-costner-returns-to-southern-alberta-to-star-in-thriller-let-him-go-opposite-diane-lane
  7. D’Alessandro, Anthony (July 8, 2020). "Focus Features' Kevin Costner & Diane Lane Crime Drama 'Let Him Go' Heads For The Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  8. Pamela McClintock (December 10, 2020). "Kevin Costner, Diane Lane Thriller 'Let Him Go' Lands Summer 2020 Release". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. Leydon, Joe (July 2020). "Coming Soon: Kevin Costner and Diane Lane in "Let Him Go"". Cowboys & Indians. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  10. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 22, 2020). "'Freaky' Leads & Jackie Chan's 'Vanguard' Tries To Throw A Punch During A Truly Depressed Box Office Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 7, 2020). "'Let Him Go' Delivers First Ever Back-To-Back No. 1 B.O. Opening For Focus Features After Last Weekend's 'Come Play' In Pandemic Market". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  12. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 15, 2020). "Blumhouse Body Swap Horror Comedy 'Freaky' Takes In $3.7M, On Par With Other No. 1 Pics During Fall Pandemic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  13. McNary, Dave (November 22, 2020). "'Freaky' Repeats as Winner of Quiet U.S. Box Office With $1.2 Million". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  14. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 29, 2020). "'The Croods: A New Age' Opens To $14M+ 5-Day Domestic, $35M+ WW During Pandemic Thanksgiving Stretch – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  15. Brueggemann, Tom (November 30, 2020). "'Let Him Go' Thrives as Early PVOD Release While 'New Mutants' Still Strong". IndieWire. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  16. D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 6, 2020). "Universal Continues To Dominate Paltry Pandemic Post-Thanksgiving B.O. As Town Reels From Warner-HBO Max Windows Bombshell". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  17. Brueggemann, Tom (December 7, 2020). "'Freaky' Debuts Well in Holiday Home Viewing, but 'Mank' Falls Short on Netflix". IndieWire. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. "Let Him Go (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  19. "Let Him Go Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  20. Gleiberman, Owen (November 2, 2020). "'Let Him Go' Review: Diane Lane and Kevin Costner Head Up a Floridly Gripping Thriller". Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  21. Barry Hertz (November 2, 2020). "You'll want Diane Lane and Kevin Costner to adopt you after watching the fierce family thriller Let Him Go". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
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