Overview
A poignant journey of friendship and resilience unfolds as a boy seeks a place to belong.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- austere
- quietly tender
- reflective evening
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Andrew Haigh's humane direction, Charlie Plummer's understated lead performance, and the film's observational portrait of survival on the social margins.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Charley seeks stable housing, schooling, food, and dependable adult care while moving through an increasingly dangerous adolescence.
The film observes warehouse work, horse racing, homelessness, and unstable family life on the American economic fringes.
Charley's movement across the Pacific Northwest becomes a practical response to abandonment, danger, and the absence of a secure home.
The direction and cinematography emphasize stoic observation, Pacific Northwest landscapes, and quietly tender encounters.
Films like Lean on Pete, and why
The Rider
shared coming-of-age drama, road movie structure, social precarity, and humanist realism
American Honey
shared adolescent alienation, rural American landscapes, understated emotion, and survival themes
Winter's Bone
shared bleak yet compassionate coming-of-age journey, economic marginalization, and restrained realism
Kes
shared boy-and-animal bond, wandering structure, and bittersweet humanism rather than sentimental uplift
Movie Details
- Director
- Andrew Haigh
- Release Date
- 2018-04-06
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (376)
Cast
- Charlie Plummer
- Amy Seimetz
- Travis Fimmel
- Steve Buscemi
- Jason Beem
- Tolo Tuitele
- Ayanna Berkshire
- Connor Brenes
- Kurt Conroyd
- Chloë Sevigny
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Lean on Pete about?
- A lonely teenager and a failing racehorse form a fragile bond as instability forces them onto a perilous journey through the Pacific Northwest.
- What is Lean on Pete like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Lean on Pete as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Lean on Pete violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Lean on Pete as moderate.
- What did critics think of Lean on Pete?
- Critics broadly praised Andrew Haigh's humane direction, Charlie Plummer's understated lead performance, and the film's observational portrait of survival on the social margins.
- Which films are like Lean on Pete?
- Films with a similar feel include The Rider, American Honey, Winter's Bone, and Kes.
- How long is Lean on Pete?
- Lean on Pete runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch Lean on Pete?
- In United States, Lean on Pete is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
