Synopsis
Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.
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Cast
- Idris ElbaHarp
- Caleb McLaughlinCole
- Jharrel JeromeSmush
- Byron BowersRome
- Lorraine ToussaintNessi
- Method ManLeroy
- Jamil PrattisParis
- Ivannah MercedesEsha
- Liz PriestleyAmahle
- Michael Ta'BonJalen
Recommendations
- 100
Variety
This is one of those rare, reframe-the-conversation films, like “Paris Is Burning,” “12 O’Clock Boys” and “Rize,” that take a very specific subculture and turn it into something universal and uplifting — only this one isn’t a documentary, despite the many real-world details that bring director Ricky Staub’s exceptional father-son drama to life. - 78
TheWrap
Concrete Cowboy is an urban drama, but it’s also a glimpse of a world most of us never knew, and a richly evocative introduction to a strange new world that has been right under our noses all along. - 75
Slashfilm
There’s a serious lack of movies about Black cowboys or Black equestrians in general, and by telling their story in the unlikeliest of settings, Concrete Cowboy feels vibrant and alive, even when it’s suffering from its own plotting problems. - 75
The A.V. Club
It’s a little corny at times, but it looks good and has heart—and, let’s be honest, Black cowboys are pretty damn cool. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
The occasional touch of cliché or corny dialogue can't dampen the vibrant spirit of this moving, well-acted drama about a fractured family coming together in unexpected ways. - 67
IndieWire
There’s certainly representational value in the way it brings a conventionally rousing narrative to such unorthodox material. At the same time, it leaves you wondering how much better the whole thing would have held together if it simply let the riders speak for themselves. - 63
Slant Magazine
The film is stirring when it really dives into specificity. - 60
The Guardian
This is an old-fashioned father-son story and none the worse for that, but there is something a little slick and subdued about the way the story is resolved.
