In Vincent D’Onofrio’s western The Kid, a boy (Jake Schur) escapes with his sister from a murderous uncle, but runs right into the Billy the Kid-Pat Garrett finale. The core is the lesson that the boy learns from his relationships with both Western icons – Billy (Dane DeHaan) and Pat (Ethan Hawke).
I recommend this Vincent D’Onofrio /Film interview, in which he discusses how the boy’s relationships with Billy and Pat echo the male role models from his own childhood.
The fine actor Dane DeHaan is the first movie Billy the Kid that I’ve seen who actually looks like Billy the Kid; he also behaves as I imagine the real Billy the Kid to behave – as a charismatic but psychopathic punk. No handsome, sardonic Kris Kristoffersson or misunderstood Paul Newman here. Ethan Hawke, of course, is excellent as a man imparting an important truth to a boy – that life may be complicated, but that reliability is always damn important.
The Kid is a little movie that works, chiefly because of DeHaan’s performance, for fans of Westerns. The Kid can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
