DâOnofrio directed and co-wrote The Kid, which retells the part-true-story and part-legend of outlaw Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett, the lawman who set his sights on bringing him down. That story is flexible enoughâand has been retold enough times, with degrees of historical accuracyâthat recounting too much of this particular plot is probably dipping into spoiler territory. One of the movieâs pleasures is how characters ascend and recede in its central framework, so that youâre never quite sure where to put your allegiance. In a world where gunfights break out with regularity, youâre also never sure whoâs going to stick around.
The story begins from the point of view of a pair of young siblingsâRio (Jake Schur) and Sara (Leila George, daughter of DâOnofrio and Greta Scacchi)âwho are on the run from a nasty uncle (Chris Pratt, in an unusual turn as a villain). Rio and Sara team up with Billy the Kid (Dane DeHaan) and his crew, and are seduced by the outlaw lifestyle and Billyâs laidback, grinning charm. Of course, Pat Garrett (Ethan Hawke) is hot on their trail, and horse chases and gunfights ensue.
Itâs all pretty conspicuously average, but The Kid comes to life in its second half, when Hawke takes center stage. Unsurprisingly, heâs the best thing in the movie by a country mile, and heâs happily partnered with sidekick Ben Dickey, the musician-turned-actor who made such an indelible impression in Hawkeâs recent directorial effort, Blaze. Itâs apparent that Hawke, Dickey, and DâOnofrio have plenty of affection for the well-worn western genre, and The Kid revels in all of its requisite gruff talk and lead-bullet promises.
Youâll need to share that affection in order to get a charge out of The Kid, a low-key fable thatâs not doing anything particularly fancy. Itâs interesting to see Pratt attempt a menacing villain, even if he doesnât quite pull off the menace (or the fake beard). DeHaanâs DiCaprio-lite persona also works pretty well as the unflappable Billy the Kid. But Hawkeâs the real reason to see this, and if he and DâOnofrio somehow wrangled this tiny thing into a series of Pat Garrett adventure movies, Iâd watch every last one.