Skip to main content

"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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

Raymond Carver: "What's in Alaska?"

Outside, Mary held Jack's arm and walked with her head down. They moved slowly on the sidewalk. He listened to the scuffing sounds her shoes made. He heard the sharp and separate sound of a dog barking and above that a murmuring of very distant traffic.  She raised her head. "When we get home, Jack, I want to be fucked, talked to, diverted. Divert me, Jack. I need to be diverted tonight." She tightened her hold on his arm. He could feel the dampness in that shoe. He unlocked the door and flipped the light. "Come to bed," she said. "I'm coming," he said. He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water. He turned off the living-room light and felt his way along the wall into the bedroom. "Jack!" she yelled. "Jack!" "Jesus Christ, it's me!" he said. "I'm trying to get the light on." He found the lamp, and she sat up in bed. Her eyes were bright. He pulled the stem on the alarm and b...
1 comment
Read more

My Favorite Pop Song

  One thing I admire about Prince is his weirdly pretentious verses: Dream, if you can, a courtyard-- An ocean of violets in bloom. Also: Touch, if you will, my stomach. Feel how it trembles inside. No one else writes like this. Did people try to shoot down these choices? Did a producer say, "We'd like to rethink this one... Touch, if you will, my stomach...."  I can't help but wonder. But it's the chorus that makes this a classic. It's direct and universal--and it ends with that bizarre flourish, the allusion to "the crying doves." (Prince's song was number one in America for quite a while; it defeated Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark.") How can you just leave me standing-- Alone in a world that's so cold? Maybe I'm just too demanding. Maybe I'm just like my father--too bold. Maybe you're just like my mother; She's never satisfied. Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cr...
Post a Comment
Read more