Let Him Go

Let Him Go

Following the loss of their son, a retired sheriff and his wife leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas.

  • Released: 2020-11-05
  • Runtime: 114 minutes
  • Genre: Crime, Drama, Thrillers
  • Stars: Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Kayli Carter, Lesley Manville, Will Brittain, Jeffrey Donovan, Booboo Stewart, Ryan Bruce, Otto Hornung, Bram Hornung, Connor Mackay, Adam Stafford, Greg Lawson, Bradley Stryker, William Hochman, John Treleaven, Heather Lea MacCallum, Ryan Northcott, Ravonna Dow, Kira Bradley, Aidan Moreno, Judith Buchan, Marilyn Potts, Vanessa Holmes, Tayden Marks, Bryn Roy, Finn Lee-Epp, Caillou Pettis, Will Hochman
  • Director: Thomas Bezucha
 Comments
  • jaybsigel - 3 February 2024
    Best watched on an empty stomach.
    Having traveled extensively and worked in this country, Montana and the Dakotas are beautiful. However, this was filmed in Alberta and I've been there several times as well as Alaska. These are relatively unpopulated areas. Having lived in small towns (3,000 or less) and mega-cities (Dallas-Ft. Worth), it is interesting that despite the daily news reports of crime in our large cities, we have never been victims there, always the small towns, 30,000 or less. What kind of people like living far from civilization and conveniences? Certainly not the gregarious types. What kind of personality does it take to work in a profession that pays little and is extremely dangerous (accidents), like farming?

    Well, this movie is set in the 1960s in Montana and North Dakota. The views are gorgeous and the acting is excellent. The characters are all unlikable other than the 3-year old boy, the grandson. Kostner plays a very stoic and taciturn husband to Diane Lane. Lane's character is loveless as she demeans her son and daughter-in-law. They have a small horse ranch with just the basic necessities. There is no passion between them. When their son dies (apparent horse-related accident), all they have left to remember him is their grandson. When his mother remarries, they become more estranged. Lanes witnesses her grandson's stepfather smacking his wife and child in town while the grandson is eating an ice cream cone with the ice cream falling off the cone, something that has happened to us all. Then, the grandson, his mother and her husband disappear.

    The husband is a member of the Weboy clan in N. Dakota. Lane's character packs up her station wagon and decides without consulting Kostner that she is going to track them down and remove her grandson and his mother back to their home. Kostner's character doesn't want her to go alone. He is a retired sheriff and that will help him track down the Weboy clan.

    Along the way, they are warned to keep away from the Weboys. Do they listen? Nope. The locate them and are invited to a dinner of pork chops. When then express no interest in eating, the mother of the clan, Lesley Manville, asks, "Are you a Jew?" They are visitors in there home, with their 4, grown sons present and they're making demands. When the stepfather arrives with the grandson, Lane is only allowed to hold him for a minute and then Manville tells her that it's his bedtime. Instead of asking if they could visit with them the next day, an ugly verbal confrontation occurs. The next day in town, Lane and Kostner see their daughter-in-law at work in a "Monkey Ward" store (Montomery Ward). During a lunch break, they ask her to secretively return with them to Montana. There is no love between the mothers and it isn't clear if she will really leave with them at 2 AM.

    At 2 AM, the entire clan bursts into their motel room and it gets very violent after accusations of child and wife-abuse are made. This is tough to watch. The local sheriff won't support them or protect them. Things get worse and it becomes a totally avoidable tragedy. At the end, with so many people getting killed, one has to ask Lane's character, "Are you satisfied now? Was it all worth it? What should you have done differently?"

    Many others here have criticized the plot here and I agree. There is excellent acting and cinematography but an awful plot. While someone less violent than "No Country for Old Men," both are the type you're better off not seeing because the violence will be difficult to unremember.
  • adamb-53795 - 21 April 2023
    A little too "based on true events"
    Definitely one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. It's hard to believe it's actually normal length. It seems to follow every single step of the journey to fit some kind of watch time limit. By the time something actually does happen, you don't care anymore. I think it could've been somewhat enjoyable if it had been an episode of a TV show that follows true short stories but it is so long most of the movie is just Kevin Costner and his wife driving and being old. The ending also leaves something to be desired. Every time you think something exciting is going to happen it ends up being the most predictable and boring outcome possible. Every character except Costner's are very poorly developed and it makes you just not care about them or what happens to them. Less of an enjoyable cinema experience, more of a trudge through the mud that you're just waiting to be over.
  • mason25 - 8 January 2023
    A generous 1 star for a terrible film
    I don't even know where to begin with this dumpster fire.

    Terribly choppy editing that doesn't aid the viewer in wtf is happening. It goes from jimmy dying, a quick cut and suddenly the ex daughter in law is getting married, then just as suddenly she's coming back from their honeymoon.... MAYBE, nothing is said about it, they're just moving into an apartment. Then the next day, next week or month, who knows, certainly zero details are being given for us to know how long, she's seen being hit, and son in law as well.

    Next day they've up and moved out to another state.

    Dont worry, the stupidity doesn't stop there, in what SEEMS like no time at all(because its the next scene), literally has the old folks chasing after them.... Yet when they get to bum fk nowhere, when they catch up with the daughter in law, she's talking about her new town like she's been living there for a while, a long while, yet apparently hasn't been working her new job very long because she can't even work the cash register.

    Grand parents push things with the super creepy jackoff family of inbred hillbillies, and gramps ends up losing a few fingers... don't worry, he'll still open a door knob with it later on with a ton of bandages and likely zero practical grip strength.

    Grams decides to be stupid enough to ask some random Indian kid that they ran into for a few hours earlier in the trip, to just move themselves into his shack, as if he even wants the company.

    But don't worry, after he does provide them with some help in an exceptional life and death situation, she drives off without offering him a home to live at..... it's really odd especially now that her husband is dead because of her actions.

    Sheriff of hicklebury town doesn't care what the family of inbreds do, even maiming folks is A-ok in his book.

    There was a lot of other BS in this movie, so much so that even my wife was pointing out stupidity from the characters, the plot, the acting, and almost every other aspect. Which she hates listening to me pick movies apart, so for her to notice and point them out, means a lot.
  • bazbarrington - 26 November 2022
    I felt embarrassed for these brilliant actors due to the poor script
    The premise of the story was good, the cast comprise of two of the best actors in the business and the budget must have been substantial to enable the re-creation of America in the 50's, yet the movie felt disjointed and I felt awkward just watching these brilliant actors struggle with the extremely poor script they had to work with. The scenes jumped too frequently, missing key interactions between characters. It was a mess.

    I couldn't watch the whole movie because the directing, script and editing was so bad. If this had been the first roles for these outstanding actors, I doubt they would have become the world famous movie stars we all know. These actors performances were made to seem second rate purely because of the poor dialog they had to work with. I will avoid watching any other movies written and directed by these muppets. I also advise other famous actors to steer well clear of any projects involving these makers.
  • mosquitobite - 9 August 2022
    Strange moofie
    This has an arm's length atmosphere with poorly written dialogue dumb scenes and some unnecessarily odd things happening that just didnt help it.

    And the rescue targets should have looked a lot worse off ....apart from the street slap and the fact they're a bunch of hot headed whackos, there didn't feel a desperate sense of urgency to get that kid outta there so i didnt feel much tension around it.

    Btw who does the so called goofs on this page? The window=cigar scene is not a goof, she winds the window half way down and its still half way down in next shot but the glass is hard to see coz of light behind it.

    Diane Lane poorly cast not convincing and honestly how hard is it to get a decent hair job, dont they have all that sorted in this day and age? Her hair looked so fake

    Dunno what LM was doing in this guess, she had a bit of fun with it. Its ok if you miss this one, coz you're not missing anything worth having .
  • jdring2007 - 6 March 2022
    powerful dramatic thriller, slow as it may be, with great performances especially by Diane Lane, and some intense moments
    While unfamiliar with the source material, I needn't be told it's based on a novel to know; that much can be deducted while watching this methodically immersive, ambient, emotional drama. Flashbacks are handled very tastefully and at times occur when one least expects it, making them a pleasant surprise. If even a sad one. Diane Lane was amazing, though I am a biased fan, and Kevin Costner has seldom disappointed; his facial expressions and body language alone were often more than enough. The tension is high once the going gets tough, and suspense is handled well, albeit a little underwhelmingly in a few parts. Ultimately the story wrapped up as I'd hoped, with a surprise or two to keep me on my toes. A tearjerker at times, while not necessarily an Oscar-worthy film, this one nonetheless handled itself respectably.