C. Thomas Howell gives a career best performance in “Ride”, a rural family drama with a hint of crime thriller thrown in for good measure. Howell plays John Hawkins, a retired bull riding champion struggling to hold his family together in the face of numerous difficulties. John is a grizzled and world-weary soul who we watch do everything in his power to provide for his loved ones only to see it all crumble under economic hardships and past choices that come back to haunt him.

The driving force behind “Ride” is director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-star Jake Allyn. The film marks Allyn’s directorial debut and is the culmination of a deep emotional journey that saw him pouring more and more of himself into the project as it took form. As a result we get a compelling, poignant, and insightful drama with the kind of tough-minded truthfulness that can only come from the heart.

Allyn co-wrote the script with his best friend Josh Plasse who also plays his kid brother in the film. Their story is set in the small Texas town of Stephenville and focuses on the Hawkins family. Allyn and Plasse build an interesting and complex dynamic that revolves around three generations of bull riders and the forces that pull at their relationships.

John is a former rodeo star in desperate need of money. He and his wife Monica (Annabeth Gish), who is the town sheriff, are drowning in medical bills from cancer treatments for their 11-year-old daughter Virginia (Zia Carlock). A potential life-saving treatment is recommended which gives their family some much-needed hope. But John needs a $40,000 first payment before Virginia can even be admitted into the clinic. John attempts to sell assets and tap into his pension which only adds unneeded stress on his already shaky marriage.

Meanwhile John and Monica’s estranged son, Peter (Allyn) arrives back in town after spending four years in prison. He reconnects with his grandfather Al (Forrie J. Smith) who helps him get settled and encourages him to get back to bull riding. But Peter immediately gets in deep with his former cell mate, a local drug dealer named Tyler (Patrick Murney), which thrusts him back into the drug-addled life that put him behind bars.

We learn that Peter’s crimes damaged his relationship with his parents, leading them to never write or visit him while he was in prison. But with Virginia’s life on the line, both sides are forced to work through their own faults and failures if they are going to have any chance to save her. And that’s where the heart of “Ride” lies – in seeing these flawed people navigate through the mistakes they’ve made while at the same time being crushed by various systems that seem to be working against them.

Allyn does a nice job planting our feet in his world by offering an authentic portrayal of rodeo life and filling it with characters who feel firmly rooted in it. They’re brought to life by a solid ensemble led by an emotionally rich and soulful C. Thomas Howell performance. Allyn uses their story to take some healthy sociopolitical swings, specifically at the U.S. healthcare system. Yet he never veers from its deeply human core. And that’s what makes his movie resonate. “Ride” is available on VOD and home video.

VERDICT – 4 STARS