Verdict
Summary
RIDE is compelling to its cowboy core, and adding to the film’s strengths is a very good soundtrack, and you’ve got a winner here.
Plot:
Several crises simultaneously rock a family where three generations of the rodeo life have helped to define this family.
Review:
When Peter Hawkins (Jake Allyn) is paroled from prison after four years for killing someone in a drunk driving incident that also injured his little sister, his family hesitantly welcomes him back into the fold. His father John (C. Thomas Howell) was a big time rodeo star in his prime, as was his father Al (Forrie J. Smith) before him, and Peter was always set to follow in their footsteps. But Peter has brought with him a severe alcohol and drug addiction, and he’s already gotten himself in debt with a local drug dealer, even though he’s primed to rake in a good bit of cash if he wins the big rodeo. Compounding this crisis is that Peter’s younger sister has an aggressive brain tumor that will cost the family $160K, which John simply can’t raise no matter how hard he tries to. Peter, knowing that the only way to atone for his sins against the family, resorts to a one-time-only robbery, which John participates in, that goes way beyond a simple grab and dash score: They kill a man and dispose of the body together, but the good news is that they get the money they need to fund the girl’s surgery … but the bad news is that there was a witness to the crime and John’s wife Monica (Annabeth Gish) is the town sheriff and she becomes caught in the middle of trying to save her family, while also trying to catch the suspect or suspects, which clearly points to her husband and son.
A rock solid drama with some thriller undertones that become the crux of this film’s conflict, Ride consistently surprised me with its ingrained sense of reality and excellent performances, particularly Howell, who after many years of pretty boy teen roles and erotic thrillers, has finally settled into his weathered and worn face and emerges as a true blue character actor of the finest kind. He helps carry this solid film, but he’s surrounded by good actors who give superb performances. It was directed and co-written by the film’s co-star Jake Allyn, who shares writing credit with Josh Plasse, who plays his brother in the film. The movie is compelling to its cowboy core, and I could relate to it very much because I know have someone pretty close to me who is very similar in a lot of ways to the character Allyn plays. Adding to the film’s strengths is a very good soundtrack, and you’ve got a winner here.
Well Go USA has just released Ride onto Blu-ray and DVD, and the disc comes with seven separate on-camera interviews with the cast, as well as a trailer. It’s available now.
