Review: 'Let Him Go' is a tense neo-Western with a hair trigger, and three great performances

Though a century removed from the Old West, writer-director Thomas Bezucha’s neo-Western drama “Let Him Go” carries the gruff beauty and hair-trigger violence of a classic Western — and boasts compelling performances by stars Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Lesley Manville.

Lane and Costner play Margaret and George Blackledge, who live on a small ranch in eastern Montana sometime in the early 1950s. They share their home with their son, James (Ryan Bruce), his wife, Lorna (Kayli Carter), and their baby son, Jimmy. Life is pretty good there, though there’s some noticeable tension between Margaret and Lorna.

Two events, a year or so apart, change Margaret and George’s life radically. First, James dies in an accident at the ranch. Some time later, Lorna remarries, and Margaret discovers the new man, Donnie Weboy (Will Brittain), is abusive to Lorna and Jimmy. It’s not long after this discovery that Margaret learns that Lorna, Donnie and Jimmy have left town, moving east to North Dakota, where Donnie’s family lives.

Margaret makes plans to go east to find her grandson, and George, a retired lawman, goes along to keep his wife out of trouble. And there’s plenty of trouble to be had, especially when the Blackledges encounter Manville’s character, Blanche, the steely matriarch of the Weboy clan — and it’s soon apparent the domineering Blanche will never let Jimmy out of her family’s influence.

In the movie’s first two-thirds, Bezucha — adapting Larry Watson’s 2013 novel — deploys a slow burn, as Margaret’s determination and George’s old-school detective work lead them to the Weboys. In the final third, that slow burn ignites a fuse, exploding into brutal violence and an inevitable showdown.

Lane has never been better, as Margaret’s grandmotherly concern grows into a lioness’s ferocious instinct. She shares some tender moments with Costner, as they together establish the rhythms of a decades-long marriage. The way they trade glances in the face of Blanche Weboy, played with oily menace by the British star Manville, is a masterclass in cooperative acting. The three stars make “Let Him Go” a spare, riveting drama that doesn’t let go of its audience.

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‘Let Him Go’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, November 6, in theaters where open. Rated R for violence. Running time: 114 minutes.