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Concrete Cowboy

R
1h 51m
- Drama
- Western

Release Date: Apr 2, 2021

Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.

Director & Top Cast

Ricky Staub
Director

Idris Elba
Harp

Caleb McLaughlin
Cole

Lorraine Toussaint
Nessi

Jharrel Jerome
Smush

Ivannah-Mercedes
Esha

Jamil Prattis

Paris

Method Man

Leroy

Byron Bowers

Rome

Liz Priestley

Amahle

Michael Ta’Bon

Jalen

Devenie Young

Trena

Swen Temmel

Security Guard

Patrick McDade

City Official

Danny Plaza

Police Officer

Andrew K. Stoltzfus

Amish Farmer

Canyon Formato

Amish Kid

Albert C. Lynch Jr.

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States,United Kingdom

Language: English

Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Summaries

Plot Summary

Cole is a 15-year-old boy from Detroit who is always getting in trouble at school, so his mom drives him to Philadelphia to live with his estranged father, Harp. She drops him off on the North Philadelphia block where Harp lives and quickly drives away. One of the neighbors recognizes Cole and tells him that his father is at the stables. When Harp brings him inside his house, Cole finds a horse standing in the living room and the fridge and cupboards empty. He says he's only going to stay one night. The next day when he's trying to call his mom, he runs into his older cousin Smush, who drives him around and gets him some food. Smush drops him off at Harps the next morning, but he won't let Cole inside because he's been hanging out with Smush, who is involved in drug dealing. He decides to sleep in a stall the stables.In the morning he tells the other riders that he wants to learn how to ride, and they tell him that he first must help with the stable work. He spends the day shoveling manure, and learns that the stall he'd slept in the night before was with a horse named Boo, which no one has been able to tame. He continues spending time at the stables and secretly with Smush as well. Harp has a surprise for Paris, one of the riders who uses a wheelchair. They all visit an empty lot where Harp reveals a special saddle that allows Paris to once again ride a horse. At the sight of it, Cole gets upset and heads back to Harp's house. Harp finds him there, and they get into an argument: Cole feels like Harp gives love to everyone except him. Harp tells him that he used to be involved in drug dealing too, and went to prison before Cole was born. He gave his son the name Cole after the jazz musician John Coltrane, another Philadelphia native who had grown up to be one of the greatest musicians, even without a father, because he wanted his son to be able to succeed as well.Cole learns from Smush that he used to be a rider, too, but began dealing drugs in order to save up money to buy a ranch out West. One night Boo gets loose and the riders find him in a neighborhood baseball field. They surround him, and Harp tells Cole that he's the only one who can get Boo to calm down. Cole hesitantly approaches and is able to throw the reins over Boo and mount him.Smush and Cole set up a drug deal that goes bad, and another local drug dealer tries to kidnap Smush. The cops appear and begin chasing Smush and Cole, but they manage to escape. Smush says that they're so close to having enough money to move West, but Cole expresses that he is done with that life. At the stables, Animal Control has arrived to seize all the horses due to neighbor complaints. Harp says there's nothing they can do, and Cole calls him a coward. He decides to return to Smush, and they go out on another drug deal. Smush gets shot, and Cole runs.Harp goes looking for Cole, and eventually finds him hiding in the stables. He washes the blood off Cole's hands, and tells him they need to give Smush a proper memorial. That night they break into the municipal stables where their horses are being kept, and free them all. Everyone rides their horses slowly through the neighborhood to Smush's grave, where Cole places a pair of cowboy boots on the dirt. He stands on the back of his horse for the first time.Not long afterward, they all watch as the stables are demolished, but Harp says they will keep riding even without their stables. Cole's mom returns to Philadelphia, and Harp thanks her for sending Cole to live with him.

Storyline

In this drama inspired by the real-life Fletcher Street Stables, 15-year-old Cole is taken to live with his estranged father Harp in North Philadelphia. There he discovers the city's vibrant urban cowboy subculture, which has existed for more than 100 years providing a safe haven for the neighborhood despite the surrounding poverty, violence, and encroachment of gentrification. — BrightAyisi