‘Ride’ Review: Heists, Heifers and Hospital Bills

Like many movies before it, including “John Q,” and “Ambulance,” the indie thriller “Ride” is about a well-meaning father who turns to crime in a desperate bid to cover his family’s medical bills. It’s a distinctly, bleakly American crisis, one with an inevitable political subtext: If a man is forced to choose between stealing and watching his daughter die of cancer, maybe it’s the system, not the man, that’s the problem.

“I’m praying for you,” John (C. Thomas Howell) is told when his request to draw on his pension is denied. In the United States, you might not get help, as “Ride” bitterly makes clear, but you’ll get plenty of thoughts and prayers.

John is a rancher and former rodeo star in Texas worn down by years of hard labor, and Howell, looking much older than his 57 years, brings a Sam Elliott-type of rugged cowboy pathos to the role of the family patriarch. The writer-director Jake Allyn also stars as John’s wayward son Peter, who helps him plan a high-risk theft.

But Allyn always seems a bit out of his depth trying to convey Peter’s inner anguish. Consequently, the character’s struggles with addiction and a troubled past feel like a distraction from the heart of the story, which is John’s drive to do anything to help Virginia, his ailing child (Zia Carlock). Decked out in cowboy hat and Carhartt jacket, Allyn looks the part. But only Howell truly embodies the spirit of the Old West.

Ride
Rated R for drug use, strong language and some violence. Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes. Available to rent or buy on most major platforms.