Film - Concrete Cowboy

We are introduced to Cole when he is a lonely teen figure in a white-washed school corridor, chained to a chair. His exasperated mum picks him up and takes him on a long drive to his estranged father (Idris Elba) in what is evidently a last straw moment.

Clearly apprehensive, Cole soon realises his father is one of a tight-knit community of black urban cowboys who reside alongside the horses they rehome with the Philly city skyline as the constant companion. 

Based on Philadelphia’s real Fletcher Street urban cowboys - as I later learn, Concrete Cowboy serves to remind us of we don’t know what we don’t know until we learn about it. 

We eavesdrop on the community, which includes a couple of strong female characters, as they sit and chat outside as the sun goes down on their Stetsons. We hear the stories of the kids they’ve saved, who when they have a horse, don’t have time to get into any trouble in the city’s neighbouring streets. We learn about them as Cole learns about them, seemingly experiencing this sense of history and belonging for the first time. His mum made a good decision.

Inevitably, we watch as the father and son relationship starts to develop, Cole learns to ride a horse and there are some other predictable moments but it is a lovely watch nonetheless.

7½/10