Synopsis
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.
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Cast
- Brady JandreauBrady Blackburn
- Tim JandreauWayne Blackburn
- Lilly JandreauLilly Blackburn
- Cat CliffordCat Clifford
- Terri Dawn PourierTerri Dawn Pourier
- Lane ScottLane Scott
- Tanner LangdeauTanner Langdeau
- James CalhoonJames Calhoon
- Derrick JanisVictor Chasing Hawk
- Greg BarberBar Owner
Recommendations
- 100
The Playlist
Focusing on the indigenous community of the Pine Ridge reservation, Zhao reimagines the entrenched masculine persona of the cowboy. The result is an entrancing, deeply moving effort, one that is certain to steal the hearts of audiences on its wider release. - 91
IndieWire
Utilizing a cast of non-actors — most of whom are tasked with playing versions of themselves, in a story pulled from their lives — Zhao’s film derives its power from the truth that both drives it and inspires it, and the final result is a wholly unique slice-of-life drama. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
The Rider is a rare gem, a small, acutely observed portrait of a few lives on what used to be the frontier but is now a desolate backwater, the windswept badlands around Pine Ridge, South Dakota. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
In telling the story of a disappearing slice of America, Zhao has created a portrait of resilience, and the bonds that last even after the rodeo’s over. - 83
The Film Stage
Zhao’s combination of the visual palette of Terrence Malick, the social backbone of Kelly Reichardt, and the spontaneity of John Cassavetes creates cinema verité in the American plains. - 83
The A.V. Club
More retroactive documentary than docudrama, it’s remarkably effective at creating a sense of verisimilitude, and these non-actors seem far more comfortable in their own skin. - 80
The Guardian
This is a movie using non-professionals playing versions of themselves, and under Zhao’s patient, unintrusive directorial eye they appear to be inhabiting a kind of heightened documentary. - 80
Screen Daily
To say the performances are authentic is clearly stating the point, but the Blackburn family opens up to give an easily intimate portrait of themselves.
