Concrete Cowboy

As long as i can remember, i have always been a big fan of British crime drama series. I have watched several really good ones, such as Prime Suspect with brilliant actress Helen Mirren, who plays Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison. I would say that Prime Suspect is still worth watching today, even if the series ended quite many years ago. One of my absolute favourite British criminal series of all time, is without a doubt Wire In The Blood, where actor Robson Greene is brilliant as the character Dr. Tony Hill, who is a clinical psychologist and serial offender profiler. Robson Greene manage to give us a character that capture you right from the start, with his bizarre behavior, as he look for the truth in killers. I actually bought the whole DVD box of this series, and even if i have seen all the episodes, i plan to rewatch the whole series at some point. There are several more British crime drama series that are worth checking out, but let´s bring up one specific title, that you might recognize. The British psychological crime drama series Luther with actor Idris Elba turned out to be one of the highlights of the year 2010, when the series premiered. Idris plays Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. We got 5 seasons all together, and this was actually my introduction to Idris Elba as an actor, before i watched him do several films. Idris have made several really powerful acting performances, and one of the best is definetely his performance in the Netflix film Beasts Of No Nation, as the character Commandant, a savage military leader with no remorse. This film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunga, who in my opinion, made one of the best films of 2015 with Beasts Of No Nation. This is not only a powerful film, but also very important for school children to see, Earlier this year i heard that Idris Elba would release his latest film Concrete Cowboy on Netflix. Since i really enjoy his films so far, of course i had to check this film out as well. Is this film another proof of what a superb actor Idris Elba is, or is Concrete Cowboy much worse than anyone would have expected?

15 year old Cole ( Caleb McLaughlin ) is from Detroit and is always getting in trouble, so his mother drives him to Philadelphia to live with his estranged father, Harp ( Idris Elba ). She drops him off on Harp´s North Philadelphia block, and drives away. A neighbor, Nessie ( Lorraine Toussaint ) recognizes Cole, and tells him that his father is at the stables. Cole is introduced into a whole new world, as he get to meet horses, and learn what his father actually does. But since Cole is stuck in criminal behavior, especially in the company of his cousin Smush ( Jharrel Jermone ), Harp knows that Smush is no one his son should be around, but Cole is stuck in his old pattern and go with the flow. As these young men take more risks, Cole could risk loosing everything, including a future.

This is one of those films that shows, no matter what your background is, and no matter how many problems you have in your backpack, you just got to find your way in life, where you feel you can be accepted. And this is exactly what the main character Cole does, learning how life works, and what you have to do to achieve your goals. Cole is a perfect example of the troubling teenagers that we hear about everyday, who feel no hope, and have no future plans. They need a reason to do something that matters, and might help them feel inspired, to find their way in society, outside of the criminal world. Concrete Cowboy show the reality of a broken home, where the main character Cole ( played well by young actor Caleb McLaughlin ) does not feel loved by anyone, not even his mother. And the scene where he confronts his father Harp ( who actor Idris Elba knows exactly how to portrait, by giving this character a lot of depth ), is one of the scenes that is hard not to be affected by. How would you feel if you were 15 years old, and never really lived in a safe home, and only felt at home in the streets? It becomes very clear as we get closer into the home of Harp that he´s never really put an effort to make a real home, since he is so focused on the stables. In one way, the stables have helped him, staying away from trouble, as he clearly wants to help his son on the right path. The acting in this film is for the most part powerful, and there are some interesting characters in this film, that i am sure that a lot of people can relate to. Concrete Cowboy is sort of a Western drama, but takes place in the city streets instead. There may not be any desert areas to ride over the city, but the city streets become their landscape, where they deal with their personal issues. In the past i have seen some really good films that deals with the problems of young teenagers, and even if Concrete Cowboy does not bring a lot of new ideas, i still think this film stands out through the horse related subjects, in the ghetto. I did not know that this film is actually based on a true story, so that does help the story become more interesting. Director Ricky Staub have made a good directorial full feature debut film, that does have something important to say about society. Concrete Cowboy is a film that might actually be appreciated by families, who need a film to inspire them to follow their dreams. And that is especially one of the reasons, why this film is worth checking out.

Rating: DDD