Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice

by Martin I. Petrov 

One of the highlights of the competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival is definitely British director Andrew Haigh's new film 'Lean on Pete', starring young US talent Charlie Plummer alongside Chloe Savigny. The film tells the story of a 16 year old Charlie, who grows up with a single dad and yet in a relatively healthy family environment. One day he meets a local race horse owner, who happens to need an apprentice and Charlie soon becomes fascinated with a horse named Lean on Pete. Soon, his fate brings him on a long journey, where the young man discovers his own strengths and weaknesses. 

Director Andrew Haigh and protagonist Charlie Plummer were present at the official press conference and spoke about their collaboration, beginning from scratch with the adaptation of the synonymous novel. "The hard thing about adapting a novel is to agree on what you have to keep and what you have to lose. Willy (Vlautin), the writer of the novel, was really helpful. I'd send him the script as I was developing it and he would send comments back to me.", said director Haigh. 

Charlie spends more than half of the film on the road, fact that rises the question of homelessness, but Charlie Plummer denied any such personal connection while interperting the character. "There's an interesting part in the film, where Charlie is asked about being homeless and he says he doesn't think of himself as one. I didn't want to see the character like this and that's why I never tried to get into that thinking."