Director, co-writer, and star Jake Allyn’s new film, Ride, is a rugged and somber tale about the life of a rodeo rider and a family in crisis and an honest depiction of the life of the American Cowboy.

C. Thomas Howell is John, a Texas ranch owner who is close to financial ruin, as he struggles to pay for his daughter, Virginia’s (Zia Carlock), cancer treatments. As Virginia has been accepted to a special facility, John is told it will cost $160,000, an amount far out of his reach.

John’s marriage to his wife, Monica (Annabeth Gish), is strained from all the emotional weight. Monica is the local sheriff and is spending a lot of time away from the office, as she is by her daughter’s side as much as possible. That this is an election year makes things even harder, while her deputy, Ross (Scott Reeves), is eyeing her job and just maybe pining for her company.

Director Allyn plays Peter, John and Virginia’s oldest son. As the film opens, he is released from prison, a stretch that allowed him the opportunity to get clean from addiction. Peter is haunted by guilt (regarding the tragedy that sent him to jail) and returns to his old drug dealer Tyler (Patrick Murney), with whom he makes a deal to pay for a fix of Oxy now with his financial winnings from an upcoming rodeo. As Tyler knows how good of a rider his old “pal” was, he agrees.

Peter and John wear shame and regret like an old gunslinger wears his gun belt. In the face of family tragedy, it has become a part of them both. A shocking turn of events causes the estranged father and son to reunite and patch up their long-broken bond.

Written by Allyn and Josh Plasse (who plays Peter’s brother, Noah), the screenplay is quite strong and explores three generations of a family born and bred into the Cowboy culture, with each member carrying different crosses of guilt. John is a man built with grit, but one who is finding it demeaning how he cannot save his young daughter. Monica never visited her son in the four years he was in prison and now finds herself at the head of a murder investigation that will test her loyalties to her family and her sworn duty as sheriff. Allyn’s direction allows for Howell and Gish to go deep into their characters; both actors giving tremendously moving and honest performances.

As Peter, Allyn does well, even as he broods too often. The pain of his past and bleak future burn strong in his deep eyes, while his slow movements signal a man walking an unsteady path.

One of the picture’s strongest performances is from Forrie J. Smith as Grandpa Al. The actor is a born and bred cowboy who has lived the rodeo circuit life. A standout on the Tyler Sheridan series Yellowstone, Smith’s gravelly voice and roughly handsome features, the actor brings a purity and kindness to his well-crafted character. This is the sort of character Sam Shepard writes about so well and Smith does it (and the film) justice.

Ride is particularly well-shot. Keith J. Leman’s cinematography brings home the darkness of the world the family is living in while capturing the bright light, dirt covered glory of the rodeo scene.