LET HIM GO: 3 STARS

Let Him Go

The last time we saw Kevin Costner and Diane Lane paired up on screen they were Jonathan and Martha Kent, adoptive parents of Clark “Superman” Kent. Once again, they are parents who suffer a loss, but their kryptonite, the thing that makes them weak, isn’t a Krypton crystal but a grandson named Jimmy.

In the early moments of “Let Him Go,” now playing in theatres, Margaret and George Blackledge (Lane and Costner) suffer an unimaginable loss when their son is killed while riding horseback on their Montana ranch. Left behind are grandson Jimmy (played by Bram Hornung and Otto Hornung) and daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter).

Life goes on and several years later Lorna remarries, tying the knot with Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain), a terse, violent man who doesn’t invite any family to the wedding. Days later Margaret’s suspicions are raised when she sees Donnie bullying Jimmy and hitting Lorna in public. The next day, stopping by to do a wellness check—with a freshly baked Bundt cake in hand—she discovers that Donnie, without saying a word, relocates Lorna and Jimmy to North Dakota. 

Determined to find out where they are and why they left, Margaret packs up the car, and after some discussion, convinces George, a retired sheriff, to come along. 

Their investigation reveals the Weboy clan to be a badlands crime family, run by powerful matriarch Blanche Weboy (Lesley Manville). It was Blanche who ordered Donnie to come home and now that the family is reunited, including Lorna and Jimmy, the Blackledges discover she will use any means necessary to keep the fam together. 

“Let Him Go” is a love story disguised as a crime drama. Margaret and George’s relationship has a comfortable, lived-in vibe but their love for Jimmy is the engine that drives the story. We don’t get to know the youngster but without him and a grandparent’s love, and to a lesser degree, Blanche’s twisted love for her family, there is no story.

Director Thomas Bezucha, who also wrote the script based on Larry Watson’s novel of the same name, takes his time laying the groundwork leading up to the explosive climax. The slow pace echoes the speed of life in mid-1950s Montana but, in the movie’s first half, tests the limits of the audience’s patience. The malevolent menace projected by Blanche brings the movie to a simmer but it takes too long to come to a full boil.

Costner and Lane bring an authenticity to their performances that make them completely believable as a couple of 40 years and later, when things heat up, a partnership who can get the job done. Costner has aged out of being an action star but he does something different here. He’s older and more physically vulnerable, but his years of experience as a lawman give George gravitas when he needs it. 

“Let Him Go” has interesting elements, beautiful landscape photography and some well-rounded characters you can get behind—and others you may enjoy hating—but the story tangents and leisurely pacing blunt the effectiveness of the storytelling. 

THE KID DETECTIVE: 3 STARS

The Kid Detective

Did you ever wonder what happened to teenage crime busters the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew when they grew up? “The Kid Detective,” a new dark comedy starring Adam Brody and now playing in theatres, provides some clues to the mystery of what happens when kid crime busters grow up. 

“I used to be a kid detective,” says Abe Applebaum (Brody as an adult, Jesse Noah Gruman as the precocious kid). When he was thirteen-years-old he solved the case of the missing find raiser money and was paid in free treats after he solved figured out who robbed the Mr. Henderson’s Ice Cream Shoppe.

When his original “office”—actually a treehouse—was chopped down by a disgruntled criminal he opened a real office on Main Street and paid his secretary (Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato) with soda pop. “Sometimes I would lie awake all night and wonder if I was the smartest person in the world,” he says.

He was loved but when his secretary went missing and he failed to crack the case, the bloom was off the rose. He grew up, or, at least got bigger. Now, almost at the big Four-O he’s living off past glories—“I’m Abe Applebaum! I solved the Case of the Missing Time Capsule when I was twelve years old. The mayor gave me the key to the city!”—while sharing a dingy apartment with a roommate and working out of an even dingier office. 

He gets the chance to prove himself when high-schooler Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) asks him to solve the murder of her boyfriend Patrick, who died from stabbed seventeen wounds. This is another level from sleuthing the case of the Missing Basketball Magazines. This is the real deal. 

“In this line of work you learn one thing quickly,” he tells her. “Everybody has secrets. No matter how simple a case may seem, it is always shocking what you find. I just want you to be prepared.” 

From there the case takes dark twists and turns that you might not expect from a movie with the Disney-fied title of “The Kid Detective.” 

Director Evan Morgan, in his feature debut, blends the crime solving of “Mystery Team” and the noir of “Brick” with the world weariness of “The Big Sleep.”

It’s a movie that derives humour from Abe’s relative failure as an adult and grown-up detective but never feels like it’s poking fun at him. Thanks to Brody’s performance we see that Abe is a sad sack who once tasted greatness and wants another sip. “It’s difficult to accept who you are in your head,” he says, “and who you are in the world.” 

His feeling of being uncertain of how to reclaim his glory days permeates every minute of his work. The story here is very specific but the themes of nostalgia for a happier time and the need for dignity are universal. “I was so far ahead of the game,” he says. “And then one day I woke up and I was… behind.” Brody pulls this off with equal parts vulnerability and (often misplaced) confidence. 

“The Kid Detective” is a low-key movie with a high concept that is a little too in love with its own subtleties. The deliberate pacing, however, pays off with a climax brings the story together as both a detective thriller and character study in an interesting and satisfying way. 

CUP OF CHEER: 3 STARS

Cup of Cheer

“Cup of Cheer,” a new Christmas film available for free on Tubi for the next two weeks and playing now at drive-in theatres, is an extremely silly comedy that places Hallmark movie conventions—the meet cute, a random royal, time travel, the small-town holiday setting and more—under Santa’s magnifying glass, blowing them up large . 

“I guess I should start at the beginning,” says Mary (Storm Steenson), a writer living in the big city (a mix of NYC stock shots and live action Toronto street scenes). “That’s when it all started. Funny how these things always start at the beginning.” 

She’s about to be let go unless she can come up with a grabby idea for the magazine’s upcoming cover story. When she pitches a story about Christmas cheer and is randomly sent to Snowy Heights, a small town legendary for it’s cool yule.

“Whatever you do don’t fall in love with some small town 8 out of 10 stranger and find the true meaning of Christmas,” says Mary’s editor. “I’ve lost too many reporters that way.”

Of course, that is exactly what happens as she begins a journey that involves Chris Smith (say it fast), the owner of Cup of Cheer, a main street hot cocoa shop that may be forced to close by Christmas if Mary’s rich ex-boyfriend goes through with his plan to open a rival café next door. 

There’s more. Lot’s more, as Mary tries to save Cup of Cheer and Christmas.

Essentially “Cup of Cheer” is a series of bad puns strung together with tinsel. Its commitment to Christmas clichés, wordplay and double entendre gags is truly remarkable but Jake Horowitz, director and co-writer (with Andy Lewis), keeps things lively with quick pacing. If you care for a joke, don’t worry, there will be another one in ten seconds. Don’t be a Grinch. It’s a dizzying onslaught well delivered by a game cast. 

“Cup of Cheer” feels like a sketch blown up to feature length and may be best enjoyed after a glass or two of your own cup of cheer of choice (unless you’re going to the drive in!). 

MAJOR ARCANA: 2 STARS

Tara Summers

A film about finding a new life in isolation may seem like a timely story but “Major Arcana,” now on VOD, is a bit too minor key to leave much of an impression.

The slow burn story involves Dink (Ujon Tokarski) a drifter who returns to his Vermont hometown after the death of his father. Pops left behind enough land to build a new place and perhaps, find a new start. Years of living aimlessly have given Dink time for introspection. He’s quit drinking and is looking to help heal the wounds his old behavior caused. 

He is overhauling his life, bit by bit, reconnecting with Sierra (Tara Summers), the girlfriend he abandoned years before, and Jean (Lane Bradbury), his embittered, gambling addicted mother.

Adding a sense of permanence to his life is the cabin he’s building on his father’s land.

There is nothing major about “Major Arcana.” It is a small-scale film, told in a minor key. Director Josh Melrod takes his time telling the tale, allowing us to get to know thew characters.

Trouble is, there isn’t much to learn. Tokarski, a carpenter in real life whose skills with hammer and nails are amply on display as he pieces together the cabin, brings a naturalism to Dink’s story of redemption but the film’s over-all Terrence Malick Lite approach feels stretched even at only 80 minutes.