179. Cowboys; movie review

 

 

COWBOYS

Cert 15

86 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, discrimination

What a surprise! Cowboys brings together two very different subjects to create an enthralling, enlightening and never preachy movie.

Its acting is of the highest order while its backdrops are among the most stunning in America.

Anna Kerrigan's film centres on Troy, a father with significant mental health issues, who encourages his 11-year-old transgender son, Joe (Sasha Knight), to go on a camping trip.

Joe and his mum (Jillian Bell) are at loggerheads because she cannot accept that he doesn't identify as a girl and, consequently, forces him to wear pink and tries to force him to play with Barbies.

Instead, he has a passion for cowboy stories and outdoor pursuits.

Anyone who thinks this is too far-fetched at such an early age might want to know that Knight is a transgender 10-year-old in real life.

I digress.

Father and child head off to the mountains of Montana but it becomes clear that neither is equipped either mentally or physically for such a trek.

Meanwhile, a detective (Ann Dowd) who is trying to track the pair down, slowly gleans understanding for the breakdown in the relationship between the conservative mum and the child she sees as her little girl.

She also becomes aware of dangerous changes in the moods of her father who is on strict medication.

Cowboys intertwines the present with flashbacks to the past to explain how the trio arrived at the current situation and how the 'adventure' will inevitably unravel.

Zahn excels as a dad whose bipolar nature emerges when he doesn't take his medication - portraying the ups and downs with expertise while also showing great fatherly tenderness.

I also admired the performance of Bell as a mum who can only see the protection of her child through a one-dimensional lens while Dowd has echoes of Frances McDormand's cop in Three Billboards. 

However, the stand-out is Knight who translates his own life experience to the screen, provoking much thought.

The combination is intoxicating and certainly well worth watching.

Reasons to watch: Unusual tender take on two issues of our time

Reasons to avoid: Some might find it slow

Laughs: None

Jumps: One 

Vomit: None

Nudity: None 

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? One of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender

was Jazz Jennings who was assigned male at birth and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria by age five.

The final word. Anna Kerrigan: "it is an intimate movie that also offers an opportunity for catharsis, depending on how emotional you are. It's funny to be like, the most psyched when someone tells you that they cried. Would you be really excited that you made me cry?” Eye For Film

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