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Directed by: Vincent D’Onofrio
Written by: Vincent D’Onofrio, Andrew Lanham
Cast: Jake Schur, Dane DeHaan, Ethan Hawke, Leila George, Chris Pratt, Adam Baldwin
Swift shot: A western directed by Private Pyle, with a supporting role for Animal Mother, and Chris Pratt is the big bad. You have to see this movie. But if you are looking for a modern Young Guns, this ain’t it. The Kid is a unique, somewhat docile look at the legend through the eyes of a young tag-along. Pratt, D’Onofrio, and Hawke were in The Magnificent Seven together, and D’Onofrio directed his daughter and nephew in this movie, so it was a kind of family affair and reunion of “pals.”
Set in 1881 New Mexico territory, The Kid is a story about redemption, revenge, and justice. But it isn’t really about Billy the Kid. The story centers around a teenager named Rio (Schur) who has to kill his father after one drunken night he beats her to death in front of Rio and his sister, Sara (George). Their uncle, Grant (Pratt) is furious when he finds out his nephew murdered his brother. But Rio manages to savagely wound Grant and together he and Sara escape.
The pair hole up for the night in an abandoned shack, only to wake up to Billy the Kid (DeHaan) and his gang standing over them. Right away, the runaways have to make a choice, and when Rio recognizes the notorious outlaw, he’s in awe. But, Billy is this kind of humble villain, he’s not some monster out to destroy the world, nor is he a legend. He’s just a guy who made bad choices and is basically fearless.
There’s a great line in the film that points out that he’s not stupid, “It’s not a lack of intelligence that’s the problem, it’s the lack of fear.” Billy the Kid is not afraid to die, which makes him quite dangerous.
DeHaan attempts to achieve that balance of lethal energy and somewhat apathetic scoundrel. I will say this, there is a great Billy the Kid actor out there somewhere, but Emilio Estevez is too insane, and Dane DeHaan is too quiet.
I have yet to see the perfect Billy the Kid. But Billy the Kid was a made-up legend that never quite lived up to the hype. His real name was Henry McCarty, and the sum of his life was 21 years, seven years of it being an outlaw and murdering nearly a dozen men. Put that into today’s context, and he was just a squirrely scumbag who had a talent for breaking out of jail.
That’s what I liked a lot about The Kid, Billy was not the hero, not by a long shot. D’Onofrio and Lanham don’t let him off easy. But, he wasn’t a true sociopath. They showed him struggling with the things he’d done and the people he killed. He wasn’t some bloodthirsty whack job like in Young Guns.
Whereas Estevez showed him relishing every murder, Dane DeHaan played him with a more pragmatic nature. Kind of like, oh well, I guess I have to kill this guy now. More, “He’s in my way.” Not, “Yipee, more killin’!”
As time goes on, Rio begins to form an alliance with Billy. Rio is willing to risk everything to save Sara from their vicious uncle.
A main theme of the movie is redemption and doing the right thing at the right time. You can’t undo mistakes of your past, you can only atone for them in the now and the future. I liked that message, as we got to identify with Rio.
On the other side of Rio’s conscience is Sheriff Pat Garrett (Hawke). He is hunting Billy, and does manage to capture him and his gang. One poor bastard from Billy’s gang gets shot to hell in the gun battle.
And when Garrett discovers Rio and Sara, they feed him a story about how they got lost from their group and need to get to Santa Fe. They do actually have kin there, so it isn’t a complete lie.
As their journey continues though, Billy hints that Rio and Sara aren’t quite as innocent as they are letting on. It’s then that Garrett begins to offer sage advice to Rio.
In essence, the whole film is about the choices that Rio makes, some good, some bad, that he has to come to terms with and choose a side . . . good versus evil or Garrett versus Billy. And I was reminded of this line from Platoon.
I’m sure Elias will be fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul. There are times since, I’ve felt like the child born of those two fathers.
Charlie Sheen
In the end, as with most stories out of the wild west, the answer lies somewhere in between.
Once things reach their conclusion, there is a confrontation with Uncle Grant. Rio spends the whole movie resolved to this aim. He will have justice. But will it be through Billy or through the law?
The Kid is a movie that can be easily bashed by critics and forgotten by many, because it does have a rushed feeling to it. I bet these people have never made a movie.
My advice is to ignore the haters and enjoy this western about a famous lawbreaker who gets a chance at redemption in the final days of his life.
