I was fortunate to be able see this film on Outfest's virtual festival this week and I really enjoyed it. "Cowboys" deals with a husband and wife who have differing viewpoints on how to parent their transgender son. The film takes place in a small, seemingly conservative town in Montana. The performances from Steve Zahn, Jillian Bell, Ann Dowd (always excellent) and Sasha Knight are what really light it up..
The film's strength is that it makes an attempt to understand every character and why they react the way they do. There are no "bad guys." The characters, like most of us, make mistakes not because they're punitive people, but simply because they don't understand. There aren't a lot of films that can take that perspective and use it successfully. Steve Zahn's portrayal of Troy, the very accepting father is funny and moving at times. My only real complaint of the film, and it's a mild one, is that I could have used more of a "heads up" that his character was bipolar... strangely, it seems to come out of left field halfway through the film and knowing more about it in advance would have added more depth to his performance.
Mostly, "Cowboys" is really a family film, and hopefully will be marketed that way, as the message is an important one. There are no overt sex scenes or serious violence. There are a few times the "f word" is used, and I hope this doesn't disqualify the film from a PG or PG-13 rating so the film can find as wide an audience as possible.
I also hope Anna Kerrigan has the opportunity to write and make more films like this. Besides being a very entertaining, it's also beautifully photographed.
The film's strength is that it makes an attempt to understand every character and why they react the way they do. There are no "bad guys." The characters, like most of us, make mistakes not because they're punitive people, but simply because they don't understand. There aren't a lot of films that can take that perspective and use it successfully. Steve Zahn's portrayal of Troy, the very accepting father is funny and moving at times. My only real complaint of the film, and it's a mild one, is that I could have used more of a "heads up" that his character was bipolar... strangely, it seems to come out of left field halfway through the film and knowing more about it in advance would have added more depth to his performance.
Mostly, "Cowboys" is really a family film, and hopefully will be marketed that way, as the message is an important one. There are no overt sex scenes or serious violence. There are a few times the "f word" is used, and I hope this doesn't disqualify the film from a PG or PG-13 rating so the film can find as wide an audience as possible.
I also hope Anna Kerrigan has the opportunity to write and make more films like this. Besides being a very entertaining, it's also beautifully photographed.