When there is some level of authenticity in a movie, whether the subject matter is familiar or not to the viewer does not really matter. You could have grown up next door to bull riders, or maybe your only experience has been when you rode a mechanical bull at that one bar in Hollywood (I’m talking about Saddle Ranch, if anyone remembers it!).
Ride is Jake Allyn’s debut film as both director and actor. The feature showcases realism at its best by taking us deep down south into the heart of an industry where young ones may or may not eat themselves, so to say. Allyn (No Man’s Land) truly steps into the limelight here with his and Josh Plasse’s (co-star) layered and heartfelt script about addiction, losing health battles, messy families and more. Texans can’t afford to miss it nor can any other person seeking inspiration for finding their roots again.
In our most recent interview with him, he said how the idea was originally conceived by Plasse who called it “Breaking Bad in Texas” even though later developments saw a major participation from rodeo scenes. It is actually eye opening what happens behind scenes before bull riding begins; Ride brings all these things closer to us through one of them named Peter (Allyn), a boy just out of prison.
A small town in rural Texas is where he lives with his aging dad John (C. Thomas Howell) whom Monica (Annabeth Gish – The Fall of the House of Usher), also known as ‘town sheriff’, happens to be his wife too. As an ex-con Peter would need to be very careful later especially when he starts engaging himself with some local drug dealers…
That young lady almost died herself since she got involved in drinking under influence when Peter was using drugs even before he ended up in jail because of this case… Now she’s bedridden but her situation is different: terminal stage cancer. Unfortunately, John has no money for Isa’s treatment. Ten thousand dollars from the local rodeo isn’t enough even if Peter, his estranged son and a bull riding superstar, wins them.
Desperate times require desperate actions hence Peter and his father find themselves in dangerous situations involving guns and bullets just to look for some quick money – which is where things become more complicated as Sheriff Monica soon begins to investigate dead bodies and robberies around town. The situation gets worse when her nosy deputy Ross (Scott Reeves) decides to look for vengeance against the mysterious witness who died after an attempt at robbery went wrong metaphorically speaking… A family that was already divided is now really a mess.
If it sounds like something you have seen before or like a typical movie script then yes, you could say that. But don’t worry; you have Howell up there leading them all – a graceful actor who ages gracefully even decades after starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s projects such as The Outsiders or Steven Spielberg’s E.T.. Moreover, Forrie J. Smith (Yellowstone), the seasoned pro who plays his own dad in this film, adds an extra level of toughness and sexiness to Ride’s family ensemble.
This pairs two actors who are truly real-life cowboys; Smith is still active in this lifestyle and Howell once a rodeo star before falling head-first into the Hollywood game. The rest is history, and these two veterans of the stage represent exhibit A for the above-given authenticity making this little indie feature that could a rare treat.
Otherwise, the other strongest point of the film perhaps lies in watching Peter’s continuing addiction battle, as we see a young actor who seems to have lost his way in more than one sense prior to incarceration (and afterwards). There isn’t always a reason people with an addiction fall into such a life-wrecking pattern but eventually we find that Peter is too willing to revert back to his old ways as soon as he comes out.
This particular tragic flashback scene will freeze your blood if you have younger siblings or simply family members you would die for. Nonetheless, it provides clearer insights on how everything began for Allyn’s troubled main character. The ending might seem wrapped up a bit too perfectly for some tastes but Ride will always be remembered as Allyn’s breakthrough achievement. Count us among those eagerly awaiting his next directorial project which may not be far away. Meanwhile, from Well Go USA, Ride opened in chosen theaters and video on demand after its award winning premiere at Dallas International Film Festival.
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