Let Him Go

The “him” in the title isn’t necessarily who you think in Let Him Go, a character-driven thriller about a desperate attempt to heal a fractured family.

Despite some strong performances and evocative visuals, this saga about the emotional burdens of residual guilt and lingering regret requires a substantial suspension of disbelief to remain emotionally invested in its largely coincidental chain of events.

Three years after their son died tragically near their Montana ranch, retired sheriff George (Kevin Costner) and his horse trainer wife, Margaret (Diane Lane), are still grieving. The young man left behind a young son and a widow, Lorna (Kayli Carter).

Three years later, Lorna skips town suddenly with her new husband, Donnie (Will Brittain), who Margaret suspects is abusive toward mother and child. Already reeling from the lack of quality time with their grandson, Margaret suggests it’s time for answers, and action.

Perhaps more for their own sake than that of Lorna and the toddler, George and Margaret track the fleeing couple to rural North Dakota, where they’re given clues about Donnie’s notorious family of defiant off-the-grid scoundrels.

As it turns out, Donnie’s gun-toting mother (Lesley Manville) doesn’t like when her authority or motives are questioned — don’t turn down this woman’s pork chops, either — and she’s not afraid to dispatch her enforcer sons to prove it.

The actors convey a chemistry that reflects both a mutual affection between their characters and a shared need for resolution and closure. Costner brings his usual understated gravitas, while Lane gives Margaret a level of feisty resilience too often lacking in these sorts of movies. Meanwhile, Manville (Phantom Thread) chews the scenery deliciously as the matriarch of her one-dimensional sadistic hillbillies.

The melodramatic screenplay by director Thomas Bezucha (The Family Stone) — adapted from Larry Watson’s 2013 novel — needs more subtlety and nuance considering the delicate subject matter. But the actors supply emotional depth and make the most of it, especially during the intimate, character-driven moments.

Filmed in western Canada, Let Him Go captures its rural landscapes with stylish flair, and the leisurely pace seems appropriate given its setting far from any urban hustle and bustle.

The film effectively escalates the stakes as the couple infiltrates this maze of backwoods family dysfunction and violence. Yet like its protagonists, it doesn’t know quite when to let go.

Rated R, 113 minutes.