20 Best Indie Movies Of 2018
9. Lean On Pete
The latest film from Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years) is a melancholic coming-of-age drama starring Charlie Plummer as a directionless 15-year-old boy who strikes up a bond with the titular ageing racehorse, sending him on a journey of self-discovery.
You can practically taste the dirt in this deeply lived-in adaptation of Willy Vlautin's novel, which cements Plummer as a wonderful young actor to watch while serving up an affecting - if grim - character study against the backdrop of the American frontier.
Steve Buscemi is also remarkable as the irascible horse trainer who slowly bonds with Plummer's Charley, and though Lean on Pete has only small slivers of hope to offer, its unsentimental approach is enormously refreshing.