Concrete Cowboy, a movie version of G. Neri’s 2011 middle-grade novel, Ghetto Cowboy, will make its debut on Netflix on April 2. The streaming service released a new trailer for the film, which stars Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award winner Idris Elba, Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin, Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome, and The Glorias’ Lorraine Toussaint. It’s the feature film debut of co-writer and director Ricky Staub.
Neri’s novel, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, tells the story of a 12-year-old Black boy named Coltrane, nicknamed “Cole,” who nearly gets suspended after he’s caught painting graffiti at his Detroit school. His mother doesn’t know how to handle him, so she brings him to Philadelphia to live with his father, Harper, whom he’s never known. Harper is part of a cowboy community there, “continuing a tradition of urban cowboys dating back to the Civil War,” according to Kirkus’ review, “maintaining stables and taking on kids to teach responsibility and provide an alternative to gangs and street life.” Cole is skeptical at first but later bonds with a horse named Boo, which changes his perspective. (Elba plays Harper, and McLaughlin portrays Cole in the film adaptation.)
Kirkus’ reviewer noted that the novel provides readers with “a fascinating glimpse of a culture most readers will not have heard of.” In an author’s note, Neri wrote that the fictional story was “inspired by the real life urban black horsemen of North Philadelphia and the Brooklyn-Queens area,” and he provides more information about them, as well as photos, on his website.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
