Ricky Staub’s debut feature Concrete Cowboy – the story of a difficult child sent to live with his estranged father in Philadelphia – doesn’t do much to drastically change the typical coming of age drama formula, nor does it seek to. Instead Staub leans into the trappings of the genre, with an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude elevated by two rock solid performances from leads Caleb McLaughlin (of Stranger Things fame) and Idris Elba. What really differentiates Concrete Cowboy from its genre counterparts is the inclusion of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club; a collection of African-American horse riders in the northern part of Philadelphia who teach important skills to black youth through the care of their horses and community at large – ultimately allowing for a deeper, more thematically rich story to be told.
Cole (McLaughlin) is in a bad way. Expelled from school for fighting and looking at police action if any future altercations arise, the 15 year-old is unceremoniously dumped at his father Harp’s (Elba) doorstep by a mother at her wit’s end. The transition to Philadelphia is rough for Cole, who immediately rejects his father’s cold demeanour and tough love teachings in favour for the renewed friendship of old pal Smush (Jharrel Jerome), a small-time drug dealer with big dreams but bigger enemies. Faced with the choice of joining Smush on the streets or adapting to Harp’s way of life, Cole finds himself drawn towards the unorthodox world of horseback riding, bonding with the other members of the club and his own unruly horse Boo. Just as Cole begins to consider his new environment home, no sooner does the law begin to crack down on the stables, risking the future of everything Cole and Harp have built for themselves.
Tropes within a genre become established for a reason: they work. Not every film or piece of media needs to constantly challenge the genre constraints and diverge in weird new ways. The job of the director and writer is to tell the story at hand in the most effective and powerful way, and for Concrete Cowboy that works largely within the confines of the tried and tested coming-of-age stories audiences know well. Understandably the story contains a few surprises that audiences won’t see coming and hits all the emotional beats you would expect but that central relationship between Harp and Cole is so well realised and acted by Elba and McLaughlin that you are locked into their struggle for the entire runtime.
McLaughlin shows remarkable promise and abilities beyond his youth as the struggling teen whose story is all too familiar, especially to those taken under the wing of the real Fletcher Street cowboys. Seeing his struggle between the world of his father and the stables and the pull of Smush into a life of crime and (in Cole’s eyes) financial success results in a far greater emotional investment when those defining moments eventually unfold, with McLaughlin’s emotional cries for help stunning in the silence of the quieter scenes. Harp is yet another phenomenal character that Elba inhabits, with the rough and tumble leader struggling to take on the weight of raising his son and juggling the problems of the club. The lessons that he delivers through the teachings of horseback riding are deceptively simple but you can feel the impact on Cole, as Harp shapes him into a young man with morals and a positive outlook on the future.
The story takes on an interesting sub-plot through its use of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. Far more than a gimmick, Staub and co-writer Dan Walter have carefully crafted the story around Cole first and foremost, but the film also acts as a showcase for the great community-focused work the club provides to underprivileged youth. It also opens the narrative up to explore the gentrification of black communities, with a significant amount of time spent expounding on the constant threat of having the stables taken away from the community. While the events that unfold to give rise to a rather beautiful and poignant moment, the discussion of gentrification never feels like it is resolved within the narrative, diverting back to Cole’s story without being mentioned again. There are hints that things have worked out well for Harp and Cole but the effect on even their circle of friends is never touched on again. Nevertheless the inclusion of the storyline does allow Staub another avenue through which to explore the father-son relationship at his film’s core; Harp has opened up Cole to a whole new lens through which to view life.
Adding a Western flavour and urban gentrification storyline to an otherwise typical coming-of-age story is Concrete Cowboy’s saving grace, providing a somewhat unorthodox and different environment to hit those familiar story and emotional beats. Staub’s script is at its best when it is really digging into the central relationship between Harp and Cole, and Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin are more than up for the task, delivering an authentic, flawed portrayal of a father and son whose relationship couldn’t be worse and which requires immense work on both parts to fix. It may not be to everyone’s cup of tea due to the familiarity of it all but there’s no denying that the message at the heart of Concrete Cowboy is worth telling and Staub’s debut feature is a competently made, heartwarming tale.
Concrete Cowboy stars Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Ivanna-Mercedes & Method Man – Streaming on Netflix now.