HOME IS WHERE THE HEALING IS // "COWBOYS" // TRIBECA 2020 FILM REVIEW
The Western has been reinvented before, but rarely with such delicacy and tenderness then Anna Kerrigan's feature film debut COWBOYS. It's a dreamy slice of cinema, focusing on the characters and their relationships, especially the relationship of a father and son. The story is simple enough: Troy (Steve Zahn) and Sally (Jillian Bell) are a married couple who are raising a beautiful child together. When their child Joe (trans actor Sasha Knight) tells them that he is transgender, it marks a divide between them. Troy immediately accepts and understands Joe, while Sally doesn't understand or accept Joe's declaration. She continues to use female pronouns for Joe and refuses to let him out of the house wearing anything but dresses and female clothing. The rift gets bigger and bigger between the family. In one scene, Sally tells Troy, "No wonder she wants to be a boy. She thinks I'm a piece of shit." Troy responds matter of factly, "This isn't about you." Eventually, the rift breaks the couple apart, with Joe living with Sally exclusively. One day, after a brutal argument, Joe tells his father that he cannot live with his Mother anyone and Troy, who now cannot see Jo without Sally's permission, takes Jo in the dead of night and they both escape into the wild of Montana's wilderness.
What strikes such a beautiful cord is that although both Troy and Sally are deeply flawed characters, the film never judges their actions. Instead, it focuses on understanding them and their sometimes erroneous actions. COWBOYS takes its time, and the instinct to do so showcases some of the very best moments. Witnessing Jo silently study her father and his male friends at a bowling alley, watching their every move with facination paints a beautiful picture without ever saying a word. The wilderness exploring of father and son, with Jo's eagerness matched with his father's unending love takes your breath away, and only when you realize that he's essentially kidnapped his own child does the reality of the situation kick in.
Steve Zahn has never been better than he is here, and thankfully he finally has a film that trusts his spot on instincts. He is sympathetic and real, loving and manic. You feel for him in every frame of the film, even when you know you have to question his decision making. Jillian Bell is the harder character to understand, but luckily neither she nor writer/director Anna Kerrigan is interested in painting her a villain. She's a mother who is making some bad parental decisions over and over, refusing to listen to her child. But she deeply loves him, yet can't seem to understand him and the humanity washes over wonderfully. The wonderful Ann Dowd also appears as a local Sheriff, tasked with finding Jo. She's restrained and understated. However, the true scene stealer is Sasha Knight. Casting a trans actor to play this crucial role was, well crucial, and Sasha knocks it out of the park. Wise beyond his years, he pulls powerful emotion from his silence and when he does speak, he both captures and rips your heart out. The chemistry between Zahn and Knight is wonderful as well, as they truly feel like a loving father/son unit.
Add the incredible cinematography from John Wakayama Carey of the stunning Montana mountains and woods and you've got a quiet and affective portrait of a family trying to figure itself out. Kerrigan has crafted a beautiful and warm feature here. No one is perfect in COWBOYS, yet no one is claiming to be. They're each trying to simply make this day better than the last.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Anna Kerrigan STARRING Steve Zahn, Sasha Knight, Jillian Bell, Ann Dowd. Selected as part of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.