"Cowboys"

 My husband is a bit more plugged-in to current indie cinema than I am, so, through Marc, I just became aware of "Cowboys."

This is an unusual Western set in Montana; at times, it feels like Maile Meloy story material. A transgender child, born to a bipolar father and a narrow-minded mother, struggles to get by in school (and everywhere).

"I'm a boy," says our hero, and no one listens. The mom in question won't allow the purchase of Apache figurines at the local dollar store; instead, all toys must involve some form of pink. We see all this through flashbacks. At the same time, in the present moment, our hero has gone missing with his father--and we follow the cops as they try to locate both vanishing acts.

That's a lot! At times, the movie leans on cliches; the transgender kid who doesn't want pink cowboy boots is someone Amy Bloom described, and with more nuance, back in the late nineties. The kid who taunts his cousin seems like a hasty selection from central casting; a bit more rewriting would have helped here.

But so much is interesting. It's exciting to move between the present and past--using our hero's style changes as a guide. The way our sympathies shift from mom to dad is also unusual and fun. Finally, Jillian Bell's performance, which is painful and thorny, will stay with me for a while. I'm not sure Jillian Bell has had an opportunity like this before. Smart casting.

I'm glad that someone put this on film.